Etymology

beau

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Today it means: A man with a reputation for fine dress and etiquette; a dandy or fop. Full definition →

Middle English beau ← Old French beau ← Latin bellus
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beau · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived frombellus“beautiful”
  2. Old French · derived frombeau
  3. Middle English · derived frombeau
  4. English todaybeau

From Middle English beau, beu, bew, bewe, from Old French beau, from Latin bellus (“beautiful”). Doublet of bello and boo.

Beau · proper noun2

Shortened from surname type given names such as Beauregard or Beaumont, or from the French word beau.

Words from the same roots

Old Frenchbeau all →

BeaulieuBeaulyBearparkbeaupere

Latinbellus all →

beautybeautifybaublebeldame

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.