elegance

[el-i-guh ns]

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noun

elegant quality: elegance of dress.

something elegant; a refinement.

Origin of elegance

1500–10; < Middle French < Latin ēlegantia choiceness. See elegant, -ance

Related formshy·per·el·e·gance, nouno·ver·el·e·gance, nounsu·per·el·e·gance, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for elegance

Contemporary Examples of elegance

He would have probably done both in much the same way: with elegance and restraint, yet radically.
How Oscar de la Renta Created First Lady Fashion
Raquel Laneri
October 21, 2014
This Palmer stands for elegance and sophistication: the embodiment of natural gifts, both athletic and personal.
Will the Real Jim Palmer Please Stand Up
Tom Boswell
September 27, 2014
England was almost as good, if mostly in the elegance of their defense.
Why Americans Should Love the World Cup
Sean Wilsey
June 12, 2014
There, she and the other women were judged on how they spoke and posed and for their elegance.
Will Jordan Davis Become the First Transgender Miss England?
Tim Teeman
February 28, 2014
The world she evokes harkens back to a time of elegance and élan.
A Breast Cancer Alphabet: F Is For Fashion Accessories
Madhulika Sikka
February 23, 2014

Historical Examples of elegance

Here every object was estimated, not for its beauty or elegance, but by its costliness.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
His face possesses the two qualities of calmness and elegance.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales
Guy De Maupassant
Let neatness, and elegance, and beauty exhibit their proudest charms.
Imogen
William Godwin
Nothing could exceed the elegance of her eulogium of "petit guerre."
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
You know what peculiar grace and elegance distinguish her on horseback.
The Memoirs of Count Grammont, Complete
Anthony Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for elegance

elegance

elegancy

noun plural -gances or -gancies

dignified grace in appearance, movement, or behaviour

good taste in design, style, arrangement, etc

something elegant; a refinement

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 elegance

c.1500, "tastefulness, correctness, harmoniousness, refinement," of speech or prose, from Middle French élégance, from Latin elegantia "taste, propriety, refinement," from elegantem (see elegant). Earlier form was elegancy (early 15c.). Meaning "refined luxury" is from 1797.