beauty

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The quality of being (especially visually) attractive, pleasing, fine or good-looking; comeliness.

   A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness; but still will keep / A bower quiet for us, and a sleep / Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

2. 2
   noun

   Someone who is beautiful.

   Brigitte Bardot was a renowned beauty.

3. 3
   noun

   Those aspects or elements that make someone or something beautiful.

   There the roſy-finger'd Spring, by the liquid mirror of a cryſtalline pool, was attiring her fair daughters in ſeven-fold ornaments, while the love-whiſpering breezes ſtole kiſſes as they paſſed, and fanned their glowing beauties.

4. 4
   noun

   Something that is particularly good or pleasing.

   What a goal! That was a real beauty!

5. 5
   noun

   An excellent or egregious example of something.

   He got into a fight and ended up with two black eyes – two real beauties!

6. 6
   noun

   The excellence or genius of a scheme or decision.

   The beauty of the deal is it costs nothing!

7. 7
   noun

   Beauty treatment; cosmetology.

   a hair and beauty salon

8. 8
   noun

   Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion.

   Menander in the comedy brings in a man turning his wife from his house, because she stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂-der.? Proto-Italic *dwenos Old Latin duenos Old Latin duonusder. Old Latin *duenelos Vulgar Latin bellus Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Vulgar Latin -tās Vulgar Latin *bellitātem Anglo-Norman biautébor. Middle English beaute English beauty From Middle English bewty, bewte, beaute, bealte, from Anglo-Norman and Old French beauté (early Old French spelling biauté), from Vulgar Latin *bellitātem (“beauty”), from Latin bellus (“beautiful, fair”); see beau. In this sense, mostly displaced…