Belle Époque

Belle Époque

See also: belle époque, Belle Epoque, and belle epoque

English

Alternative forms

• Belle Epoque
• belle époque
• belle epoque

Etymology

Borrowed from French Belle Époque (“good epoch”).

Proper noun

Belle Époque (uncountable)

1. (historical) A period of European history, extending over several decades until the start of the First World War, characterized by artistic and cultural refinement.
   • 1973, Raymond Rudorff, The Belle Époque: Paris in the Nineties, Saturday Review Press, page 240,

     Among these cultured hostesses, a leading figure in the belle époque was the Comtesse de Greffulhe.

   • 1994, Jennifer R. Waelti-Walters, Steven C. Hause (editors), Feminisms of the Belle Epoque: A Historical and Literary Anthology, University of Nebraska Press.
   • 2008, Ellen Hymowitz, 1900—1918, Jill Condra (editor), The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History, Volume 3: 1801 to the Present, Greenwood Press, page 89,

     Spanning the turn of the century and capitalizing on fortunes accumulated before the democratizing notion of income tax existed, the Belle Époque held out a lavish style of life to the relative few who could afford it.

Usage notes

• By convention, the period extends from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the outbreak of World War I: i.e., from 1871—1914.

Translations

period of European history

Chinese: Mandarin: 美好年代 (Měihǎo Niándài) German: Belle Époque (de) f Russian: Прекра́сная эпо́ха f (Prekrásnaja epóxa) Spanish: Bella Época f Ukrainian: Прекра́сна епо́ха f (Prekrásna epóxa)

See also

• Edwardian
• Pax Britannica