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bibelot

[bib-loh; French beebuh-loh]
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noun, plural bi·be·lots [bib-lohz; French beebuh-loh] /ˈbɪb loʊz; French bibəˈloʊ/.
  1. a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity.
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Origin of bibelot

1870–75; < French, equivalent to bibel- (expressive formation akin to bauble) + -ot noun suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bibelot

bauble, curio, curiosity, gewgaw, gimcrack, knickknack, novelty, ornament, trifle, gaud, whatnot

Examples from the Web for bibelot

Historical Examples of bibelot

  • Regarded as a bibelot, Mrs. Wigger was, I think, of the first perfection.

    Turns about Town

    Robert Cortes Holliday

  • I set to work at once, and in a very little while my bibelot was selected.

  • She was terribly hurt; in her heart she had always feared her husband regarded her as a bibelot.

    The Twelfth Hour

    Ada Leverson

  • Met him at the Bibelot once, and he was telling us how he attempted to make a fire with a couple of sticks.

    The Sea-Wolf

    Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for bibelot

bibelot

noun
  1. an attractive or curious trinket
  2. a miniature book
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Word Origin for bibelot

C19: from French, from Old French beubelet, perhaps from a reduplication of bel beautiful
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

Word Origin and History for bibelot

n.

"small curio," 1873, from French bibelot "knick-knack," from Old French beubelet "trinket, jewel" (12c.), from belbel "plaything," a reduplication of bel "pretty."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper