Definition of Bel esprit

1. Noun. A witty or clever person with a fine mind.

Generic synonyms: Intellect, Intellectual

Definition of Bel esprit

1. Noun. A very witty or clever person. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Bel Esprit

beknights
beknit
beknot
beknots
beknotted
beknotting
beknow
beknowing
beknowledge
beknown
beks
bektashi
bel-accoyle
bel canto
bel esprit (current term)
bel paese
belabor
belabored
belaboredly
belaborer
belaboring
belabors
belabour
belabour'd
belaboured
belabouredly
belabourer
belabouring
belabours

Literary usage of Bel esprit

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Corneille Et Son Temps: étude Littéraire by Guizot (François), M. Guizot (1858)
"1 Le bel esprit est un titre fort beau Quand on aime à courir de ruelle en ruelle ; Mais ce n'est point le fait d'une sage cervelle De chercher à briller ..."

2. French Classicism by Charles Henry Conrad Wright (1920)
"True bel esprit, says Bouhours, must not be confounded with superficial ... A mere scholar is not a bel esprit, and poetasters are only jolis esprits. ..."

3. The Aesthetic Doctrine of Montesquieu: Its Application in His Writings by Edwin Preston Dargan (1907)
"8 And, with particular reference to Voltaire : "Le bon esprit vaut mieux que le bel esprit." ' It is the second specialized sense of the word with which we ..."

4. Corneille and His Times by Guizot (François) (1852)
"The pedantry of bons airs will unite with that of bel esprit ; the word ... Le bel esprit est un titre fort beau, Quand on aime à courir de ruelle en ruelle ..."

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