beau monde

beau monde

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French beau monde (literally “beautiful world”).

Noun

beau monde (plural beaux mondes)

1. (dated) The fashionable part of society.
   • 1838 (date written)​, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, OCLC 1000392275, page 223:

     ...and I am sure you will permit me to invite a friend or two, for you know I only deal with choice spirits, the élite of the beau monde.

   • 1976, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift, New York: Avon, →ISBN, page 57:

     But the intellectuals one meets are something else again. I didn't behave well with the mental beau monde of Chicago.

   • 2018, David Birmingham, A Concise History of Portugal:

     The beau monde went to the Maria II opera house to see and be seen.

   Synonym: beautiful people

Coordinate terms

• demimonde

Derived terms

• beau monde seasoning

Translations

fashionable part of society

French: beau monde (fr) m Georgian: ბომონდი (bomondi) Russian: бомо́нд (ru) m (bomónd), вы́сший свет m (výsšij svet)

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo mɔ̃d/

Noun

beau monde m (uncountable)

1. beautiful people, smart set, high society

   Synonyms: grand monde, belle société, haute société