English

Proper noun

Beau

1. A male given name used since mid-twentieth century.
   • 1936 Margaret Mitchell: Gone With the Wind: Chapter XXXV:

     'Mees Melly, I hear she call her boy "Beauregard". You tell her I, René, approve and say that except for "Jesus" there is no bettaire name.'

     And though he smiled, his eyes glowed proudly at the name of Louisiana's dashing hero.

     'Well, there's "Robert Edward Lee" ', observed Tommy. 'And while I'm not trying to lessen Old Beau's reputation, my first son is going to be named "Bob Lee Wellburn".'

Coordinate terms

• Belle (female given name)

See also

• Bo

English

Noun

beau ‎(plural beaux or beaus)

1. (dated) A man with a reputation for fine dress and etiquette; a dandy or fop.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 21

     “I do not comprehend the meaning of the word. But this I can say, that if he ever was a beau before he married, he is one still, for there is not the smallest alteration in him.”

     “Oh! dear! one never thinks of married mens’^[sic] being beaux—they have something else to do.”

2. (dated) A male lover; a boyfriend.
   • 1917, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, p. 142:

     Hannah's beau takes all her time 'n' thought, and when she gits a husband her mother'll be out o' sight and out o' mind.

   • 2009, Philippa Bourke, Monsters and Critics , Dec 10, 2009:

     Kristin Davis has taken time out to enjoy the surf and sand with her Australian beau, photographer Russell James.

3. A male escort.

Translations

See also

• beau-
• beautiful
• Beau

References

• beau in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin bibō. Compare Romanian bea, beau.

Verb

beau ‎(third-person present singular indicative bea, past participle biutã)

1. I drink

Related terms

• beari/beare
• biut
• biutor
• biuturã
• parabeau

French

Etymology

From Middle French beau, from Old French biau, bel, from Latin bellus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo/
• Rhymes: -o
• Homophones: bau, baux, beaux, bot, bots

Adjective

beau m ‎(masculine singular before vowel bel, feminine singular belle, masculine plural beaux, feminine plural belles)

1. handsome, fine, attractive
2. nice
3. fair (weather)

   Il fait beau.

   It is fair (weather)

Usage notes

Use the form 'bel' before a singular masculine noun that begins with a vowel or a mute “h”.

Derived terms

• avoir beau
• bellâtre
• Bellefontaine
• bellement

Anagrams

• aube

Middle French

Alternative forms

• bel

Etymology

From Old French beau, one of the variants of biau.

Adjective

beau m ‎(feminine singular belle, masculine plural beaulx, feminine plural belles)

1. beautiful; handsome; attractive

Descendants

• French: beau

Old French

Adjective

beau m ‎(oblique and nominative feminine singular bele)

1. Alternative form of biau
   • circa 1190, Marie de France, Lai de Isclavret:

     beaus chevalers e bons esteit
     e noblement se cunteneit.

     Hansome knight and good was he
     and he behaved nobly.

Declension

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bʲæw]

Verb

beau

1. first-person singular present tense form of bea.
2. first-person singular subjunctive form of bea.
3. third-person plural present tense form of bea.
4. third-person plural imperfect form of bea.