beauté French · revision 17085

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (beltet)|origins=la bellus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bo.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''beauté''' ''f'' (plural beautés)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''beltet'' (1080), ''biauté'', ''beauté'' (about 1160).^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|beltet]], from [[bel]] ([[beau]]), or from [[la-vul|*bellitās|t=beauty]] (accusative “*bellitātem”), from [[la|bellus|t=pretty, handsome]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Classical Latin “bellus” meant pretty, graceful, and replaced the more elevated [[la|pulcher]] in most of Romance.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Compare [[pro|beltat]], [[es|beldad]] and [[it|beltà]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) says of a knight that ''pur sa beltet dames li sunt amies'', “for his beauty ladies are his friends”.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word means the quality of what is beautiful, especially of a person; by metonymy ''une beauté'' is a beautiful woman (1250–1300).^(DHLF 1992) Unlike ''beau'', it developed few senses other than aesthetic ones, though one speaks of moral beauties.^(DHLF 1992) Phrases include ''de toute beauté'' “magnificent”, ''en beauté'' “in style”, and ''se faire une beauté'' “to doll oneself up”, ''l'île de Beauté'' is Corsica.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Beltet'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Beauté''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1250–1300 – ''Une beauté'', a beautiful woman.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|beauty]]: ''la beauté d'un paysage'', ''de toute beauté'', ''finir en beauté''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person's beauty, good looks: ''produits de beauté'', ''institut de beauté'', ''se faire une beauté''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Une beauté'': a beautiful woman.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(plural)'' The fine features or passages (of a work, a place).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[beau]]

+ * [[embellir]]

+ * [[belle]]

+ * [[la|bellus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}