painted beauty

American  

[peyn-tid byoo-tee] / ˈpeɪn tɪd ˈbyu ti /

noun

1. a brightly colored butterfly, Batesia hypochlora, of Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador, that is predominantly blue with an orangish-pink patch on each forewing.

---

Etymology

Origin of painted beauty

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Gonzalez has painted beauty salons and barber shops.

From New York Times • May 17, 2022

She was the woman of the faded, yellow book, and the painted beauty at the Metropolitan.

From The Thing from the Lake by Ingram, Eleanor M. (Eleanor Marie)

And now a chastened sunshine, daily growing stronger, shot through the present clouds, painted beauty on their fringes, and lighted the darkness of their recesses so that even the secrets of suffering were fitfully revealed.

From Lying Prophets by Phillpotts, Eden

No painted beauty of the stage waved the tricolour to the shout of "À Berlin!"

From The Soul of the War by Gibbs, Philip

And ah! no false and fleeting love is mine, Such as for painted beauty feigns to pine; Nor doth my passion, although deep and strong, Seek its own wicked pleasure in thy wrong.

From The Tales Of The Heptameron, Vol. II. (of V.) by Saintsbury, George