beauty spot

plural beauty spots

1. archaicA thing (especially an aspect of something) which is beautiful.

   But if righteounſeſs be ſuch a beauty-ſpot in thine eyes novv, hovv is it that vvickedneſs vvas ſo cloſely ſtuck to by thee before.

   1682, John Bunyan, “[Diabolus has No Conscience to God, nor Love to Mansoul]”, in The Holy War, Made by Shaddai upon Diabolus, for the Regaining of the Metropolis of the World. […], London: […] Dorman Newman […]; and Benjamin Alsop […], →OCLC, pages 129–130

   1 more example

   I need not deſcribe to thee her hand and arm. VVhen thou ſavveſt her, I took notice that thy eyes dvvelt upon them, vvhenever thou couldſt ſpare them from that beauty-ſpot of vvonders, her face.

   1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXI. Mr. Lovelace, to John Belford, Esq.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume IV, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC, page 242

   1. archaicA natural mark on a person's skin, especially a freckle or mole on a woman's face.

      Synonyms: beauty mark

   2. archaichistoricalcosmeticsA patch or spot drawn or placed on the face in order to heighten beauty.

      The Deformity, and Filthyneſs of Svvine, make them the Beauty-ſpot of the Animal Creation, and the Emblem of all Vice.

      1701, Nehemiah Grew, “Of the Ends of Providence. And First, in this Life.”, in Cosmologia Sacra: Or A Discourse of the Universe as It is the Creature and Kingdom of God. […], London: […] W[illiam] Rogers, S[amuel] Smith, and B[enjamin] Walford: […], →OCLC, 3rd book, paragraph 49, page 102

      Synonyms: beauty mark, mouche

   3. archaicbiologySynonym of speculum (“a bright, lustrous patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds, usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female”).

      Synonyms: speculum

2. UKA place noted for its beauty, especially its natural scenery.

   Another local beauty spot is Lustleigh Cleave, where the River Bovey flows through an avenue of trees.

   1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 270, about Lustleigh

   2 more examples

   Moreover they [mountains] bestow necessaries not in mere naked sufficiency, but in forms which make hill-streams and waterfalls rank among the beauty-spots of this beautiful world: […]

   [1879], Christina G[eorgina] Rossetti, “Mountains and Hills”, in Seek and Find: A Double Series of Short Studies of the Benedicte. […], London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge […]; New York, N.Y.: Pott, Young, & Co., →OCLC, 1st series (Creation), page 91

   The building of the railway in this notable beauty spot roused the great Victorian writer John Ruskin to fury.

   1960 March, J. P. Wilson, E. N. C. Haywood, “The Route through the Peak – Derby to Manchester: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 155