elegance
[el-i-guh ns]
Origin of elegance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
dignitystylesplendornobilitydelicacygentilitysophisticationrefinementcharmpurityrestraintmagnificencegracegrandeurluxurysymmetryculturepolishnicetycultivationExamples from the Web for elegance
Contemporary Examples
He would have probably done both in much the same way: with elegance and restraint, yet radically.
This Palmer stands for elegance and sophistication: the embodiment of natural gifts, both athletic and personal.
England was almost as good, if mostly in the elegance of their defense.
There, she and the other women were judged on how they spoke and posed and for their elegance.
The world she evokes harkens back to a time of elegance and élan.
Historical Examples
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 TalesGuy De Maupassant
Let neatness, and elegance, and beauty exhibit their proudest charms.
ImogenWilliam Godwin
Nothing could exceed the elegance of her eulogium of "petit guerre."
Vivian GreyEarl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
You know what peculiar grace and elegance distinguish her on horseback.
The Memoirs of Count Grammont, CompleteAnthony Hamilton
elegance
elegancy
- dignified grace in appearance, movement, or behaviour
- good taste in design, style, arrangement, etc
- something elegant; a refinement
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for elegance
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper