belles-lettres
[ French bel-le-truh ]
/ French bɛlˈlɛ trə /
plural noun
literature regarded as a fine art, especially as having a purely aesthetic function.
light and elegant literature, especially that which is excessively refined, characterized by aestheticism, and minor in subject, substance, or scope.
RELATED WORDS
essay, drama, story, novel, prose, information, poetry, research, leaflet, pamphlet, lore, brochure, article, composition, biography, history, poem, literature, piece, publication
Nearby words
- belleek,
- belleek ware,
- bellefontaine,
- bellefontaine neighbors,
- bellerophon,
- belletrist,
- belleville,
- belleville spring,
- bellevue,
- bellflower
Origin of belles-lettres
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for belles-lettres
belles-lettres
/ (French bɛllɛtrə) /
noun
(functioning as singular) literary works, esp essays and poetry, valued for their aesthetic rather than their informative or moral content
Word Origin for belles-lettres
C17: from French: fine letters
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
belles-lettres
"elegant literature, aesthetics," 1710, French, literally "fine letters," from belles, plural of belle, fem. of beau "fine, beautiful" (see beau) + lettres, plural of lettre "letter" (see letter). The literary equivalent of beaux arts.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper