éclat

[ey-klah, ey-kla]

noun

1. brilliance of success, reputation, etc..

   the éclat of a great achievement.

2. showy or elaborate display.

   a performance of great éclat.

3. acclamation; acclaim.

éclat

/ eɪˈklɑː, ekla /

noun

1. brilliant or conspicuous success, effect, etc

2. showy display; ostentation

3. social distinction

4. approval; acclaim; applause

Word History and Origins

Origin of éclat¹

1665–75; < French: splinter, fragment, burst, flash, brilliance, Old French esclat, noun derivative of esclater to burst, break violently, probably < Old Low Franconian *slaitan to split, break (compare Old High German sleizan to tear), a causative of Germanic *slitan; slit

Word History and Origins

Origin of éclat¹

C17: from French, from éclater to burst; related to Old French esclater to splinter, perhaps of Germanic origin; compare _slit

Example Sentences

The museum may not have made performance a priority in recent years, but Washington also reminded us that the premiere of Boulez’ “Éclat” put music in LACMA’s DNA.

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That occasion, a program by the legendary Monday Evening Concerts in which Pierre Boulez conducted the premiere of his “Éclat,” helped symbolize an exuberant L.A. coming of age, with the Music Center having opened three months earlier.

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The mandolinist in “Éclat,” for instance, was Sol Babitz, the father of the late, quintessential L.A. writer Eve Babitz.

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Boulez, an explosive composer, eventually turned the 10-minute “‘Éclat,’ for 15 instruments” into a 25-minute orchestral masterpiece, “Éclat/Multiples,” and left unfinished sketches behind to extend that to a full hour.

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Few American artists of the 20th century arrived with quite his éclat.

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