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bel esprit

[ bel es-pree ]

noun

, French.
, plural beaux es·prits [boh zes-, pree].
  1. a person of great wit or intellect:

    He found this charming bel esprit, not among his university colleagues, but in the person of a young widow on the outskirts of town.



bel esprit

/ bɛl ɛspri /

noun

  1. a witty or clever person
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of bel esprit1

First recorded in 1630–40; French: literally, “fine mind, wittiness”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bel esprit1

literally: fine wit
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Example Sentences

What we commonly understand in French by "esprit," "bel-esprit," "trait d'esprit," are—ingenious thoughts.

One evening he took me with him to a literary renion, at which every bel-esprit of the capital was to be present.

Madame de Pompadour joked my companion about her 'bel-esprit', but sometimes she reposed confidence in her.

There was the blue-stocking lady, a mature belle and bel-esprit.

Well might the weary courtiers cry out against les galeres du bel esprit.

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