bibelot

[bib-loh, beeb^uh-loh]

noun

plural

bibelots 

1. a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity.

bibelot

/ ˈbɪbləʊ, biblo /

noun

1. an attractive or curious trinket

2. a miniature book

Word History and Origins

Origin of bibelot¹

1870–75; < French, equivalent to bibel- (expressive formation akin to bauble ) + -ot noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bibelot¹

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

Example Sentences

Here are some words in Lydia Davis’ new collection of stories, “Our Strangers,” that she finds particularly interesting: “bibelot,” “egg,” “acknowledgment,” “fun,” “obnoxious,” “crepey,” “irregardless.”

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Gewgaw, a shiny trinket Bon Voyage A trinket or a knickknack, an ornament, a kickshaw, a frippery, a gimcrack, a bibelot, a gewgaw .

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He finds it painful to see this memento of colonialism and bondage turned into an amusing bibelot, but he also loves the woman in whose household it is displayed.

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He’s married but he wants her for his own nibbling, as a sexual bibelot.

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A recent consultant’s report recommended creating programs to serve the “broader community,” even though it is packed with bibelot shops and satellite galleries.

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