beau+ideal

  • 1beau-ideal — 1801, from Fr. beau idéal the ideal beauty, beautifulness as an abstract ideal, in which beau is the subject, but as English usually puts the adjective first, the sense has shifted in English toward perfect type or model …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 2beau ideal — beau′ ide′al n. pl. beaus ideal, beaux ideal; beau ideals 1) fot a conception of perfect beauty 2) fot a model of excellence • Etymology: 1795–1805; < F beau idéal lit., ideal beauty …

    From formal English to slang

  • 3beau ideal — n. [Fr beau idéal] 1. ideal beauty 2. the perfect type or conception: a sense due to mistranslation [the beau ideal of fashion] …

    English World dictionary

  • 4Beau ideal — Ideal I*de al, n. A mental conception regarded as a standard of perfection; a model of excellence, beauty, etc. [1913 Webster] The ideal is to be attained by selecting and assembling in one whole the beauties and perfections which are usually… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 5Beau ideal — Beau i*de al (b[=o] [ i]*d[=e] al; 277). [F. beau beautiful + id[ e]al ideal.] A conception or image of consummate beauty, moral or physical, formed in the mind, free from all the deformities, defects, and blemishes seen in actual existence; an… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 6beau ideal — ideal, exemplar, pattern, *model, example, mirror, standard …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 7beau ideal — pl. beaus ideal, beaux ideal for 1; beau ideals for 2. 1. a conception of perfect beauty. 2. a model of excellence. [1795 1805; < F beau idéal lit., ideal beauty. See BEAU, IDEAL] * * * …

    Universalium

  • 8beau ideal — noun (plural beau ideals) Etymology: French beau idéal ideal beauty Date: 1809 the perfect type or model …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9beau ideal — n. (pl. beaux ideals) the highest type of excellence or beauty. Etymology: F beau ideacuteal = ideal beauty: see BEAU, IDEAL …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 10beau ideal — [Fr.] Ideal beauty, ideal excellence, ideal standard, ideal, realized ideal, perfection, consummation, consummate flower …

    New dictionary of synonyms