|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Beau
Beau ♂, ♀ Recent coinage as a given name, originally a nickname meaning ‘handsome’, as borne by the Regency dandy Beau Brummell (1778–1840), who was for a time a friend of the Prince Regent. The word was also used in the 19th century with the meaning ‘admirer’ or ‘sweetheart’. Its adoption as a given name seems to have been due to the hero of P. C. Wren's novel Beau Geste (1924) or to the character of Beau Wilks in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936), which was made into an exceptionally popular film in 1939. More recently, it has been associated with the American actor Beau Bridges (b. 1941) and has gained considerable currency. Its use as a girl's name is a recent development.
|
|
|
Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Beau." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Beau." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Beau.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Beau." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Beau.html |
|
beau
beau a rich, fashionable young man, a dandy; sometimes used in a personal appellation, as in Beau Brummell, Beau Nash. Recorded from the late 17th century, the word comes from French, literally ‘handsome’, from Latin bellus.
Beau Geste the nickname of Michael Geste (punning on beau geste a noble and generous act) who in P. G. Wren's romantic adventure novel (1924) of this title runs away to enlist in the French Foreign Legion to spare his family the distress of a wrongful accusation against him. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "beau." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "beau." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-beau.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "beau." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-beau.html |
|
beau
beau / bō/ • n. (pl. beaux / bōz/ or beaus ) dated 1. a boyfriend or male admirer. 2. a rich, fashionable young man; a dandy. |
|
|
Cite this article
"beau." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "beau." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-beau.html "beau." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-beau.html |
|
beau
beau dandy XVII; lady's suitor XVIII. — F. :- L. bellus pretty, fine. Cf. BELLE.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "beau." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "beau." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-beau.html T. F. HOAD. "beau." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-beau.html |
|
beau
beau
•aglow, ago, alow, although, apropos, art nouveau, Bamako, Bardot, beau, Beaujolais Nouveau, below, bestow, blow, bo, Boileau, bons mots, Bordeaux, Bow, bravo, bro, cachepot, cheerio, Coe, crow, Defoe, de trop, doe, doh, dos-à-dos, do-si-do, dough, dzo, Flo, floe, flow, foe, foreknow, foreshow, forgo, Foucault, froe, glow, go, good-oh, go-slow, grow, gung-ho, Heathrow, heave-ho, heigh-ho, hello, ho, hoe, ho-ho, jo, Joe, kayo, know, lo, low, maillot, malapropos, Marceau, mho, Miró, mo, Mohs, Monroe, mot, mow, Munro, no, Noh, no-show, oh, oho, outgo, outgrow, owe, Perrault, po, Poe, pro, quid pro quo, righto, roe, Rouault, row, Rowe, sew, shew, show, sloe, slow, snow, so, soh, sow, status quo, stow, Stowe, strow, tally-ho, though, throw, tic-tac-toe, to-and-fro, toe, touch-and-go, tow, trow, undergo, undersow, voe, whacko, whoa, wo, woe, Xuzhou, yo, yo-ho-ho, Zhengzhou, Zhou
|
|
|
Cite this article
"beau." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "beau." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-beau.html "beau." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-beau.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
