bel esprit
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bel esprit
First recorded in 1630–40; French: literally, “fine mind, wittiness”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The remnants beyond the threshold were from an estate that belonged to George Bucknam Dorr, a Boston lawyer, philanthropist, trail builder, bel esprit and a founder of Acadia National Park.
From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2014
Mademoiselle has le bel esprit, what you call Mericanhumor.
From Molly Brown of Kentucky by Speed, Nell
It really requires the strength of Hercules, mind and body, to go through our labours, fashionable, political, bel esprit, altogether too much for mortal.
From Tales and Novels — Volume 10 by Edgeworth, Maria
In Cambridge we regard you as a bel esprit, a wit, an Irresponsible, a Parisian Immoralist, tres chic.
From Fanny's First Play by Shaw, Bernard
Anton von Klein, a Jesuit bel esprit living at Mannheim, was a steadfast champion of the regular heroic tragedy.
From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Thomas, Calvin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
