English

Noun

bon ton ‎(uncountable)

1. (dated) The height of fashion; fashionable society.
   • 1839, The Quarterly Review, Volume 64, p. 555:

     This part of the proposition is very popular, particularly with the higher and middle classes, because it is the fashion, and a mark of bon ton, to enclose one's letter in an envelope, even though, or perhaps because, it subjects it to double postage.

Related terms

• ton

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from French bon ton ‎(literally “good tone”)

Noun

bon ton m

1. sophistication, fashionability
   • 2007, Amiche per la pelle, Laila Waida.

     Lula è la nostra maestra di bonton; cerca di renderci più sofisticate.