beau

/bou/
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beau

A young woman introduces her beau to her parents at a garden party.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A man who is very concerned with his clothing and overall appearance; a dandy; a fop. This meaning emphasizes a man's fashionable, often excessively careful, style of dress.
    • A woman's male romantic partner or suitor; a boyfriend. This is an old-fashioned or literary term for a man who is courting a woman or is her lover.
Examples of Usage

  • Noun (Dandy):

    • He was known around town as a fashionable beau, always dressed in the latest styles.
    • The portrait showed a 19th-century beau with an elaborate cravat and powdered wig.

  • Noun (Boyfriend/Suitor):

    • She introduced the young officer as her beau.
    • In the novel, the heroine had several eager beaux vying for her attention.
Advanced Usage

  • "Beau monde": (from French) Literally "beautiful world," this phrase refers to the world of high society and fashionable people.

    • She was a celebrated figure in the beau monde of Paris.

  • "Beau ideal": (from French beau idéal) The perfect model or ultimate standard of beauty or excellence.

    • For many classicists, the sculptures of ancient Greece represented the beau ideal of human form.
Variants and Related Words

  • Beaux: The traditional plural form of "beau."

    • The ballroom was filled with elegant ladies and their attentive beaux.

  • Beauish (adj., rare): Characteristic of a beau; dandyish.

  • Beauteous (adj., poetic): Beautiful. (Shares the root but has a different meaning).
Synonyms
  • For the "dandy" meaning: dandy, fop, fashion plate, clotheshorse, swell.
  • For the "boyfriend" meaning: suitor, admirer, sweetheart, paramour, escort (context-dependent).
Related Phrases
  • "Beau geste": (from French) A gracious or noble gesture, often one that is more symbolic than practical.
    • Sending flowers was a beau geste that she greatly appreciated.
Notes on Usage
  • The word "beau" is considered somewhat old-fashioned or literary in modern English, especially when referring to a boyfriend. It often evokes a sense of historical or formal courtship.
  • Its use to describe a fashion-conscious man is also dated but remains understood, particularly in historical contexts.
beau

A young woman introduces her beau to her parents at a garden party.

Noun
  1. a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance
  2. a man who is the lover of a girl or young woman
    • if I'd known he was her boyfriend I wouldn't have asked

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