I. ˈbyüd.ē, -yütē, -i noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English beaute, bealte, from Old French biauté, belté, from biau, bel beautiful (from Latin bellus pretty) + -té -ty; akin to Latin bonus good — more at bounty
1.
a. : extreme physical attractiveness and loveliness : perfect combination of characteristics pleasurable to see
the beauty of the actress
the beauty of the scenery
b. : a characteristic or combination of characteristics affording great sensory pleasure
the beauty of the sonata
c.
(1) : one notably marked by beauty
the new car was a beauty
fishing for trout and catching several beauties
especially : a person so marked
a bold beauty , with shining black hair, red lips, and eyes not afraid — George Meredith
(2) : the aggregate of those marked by beauty
the beauty and chivalry of the county were gathered there — Raymond Weeks
d.
(1) : a particular grace, adornment, or excellence : a single characteristic or attribute marked by beauty
he had two great beauties, the pale flat white of his skin, and his great shaggy mass of dark hair — Dorothy C. Fisher
(2) beauties plural : passages of literature strongly marked by beauty
a collection of the poet's beauties
e. : a trait or combination of traits calling forth admiration, praise, or respect
the beauty of his character
the beauty of this mathematical demonstration
f. : a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance
the goalie's save was a beauty
his bruise after the fall was a beauty
this mistake in strategy was a beauty
g. : most cogent feature : characteristic insuring effectiveness : climactic detail
the beauty of it is that everyone can play
the beauty of the scheme is that the trickster is defrauded
2.
a. : perfection that excites admiration or delight for itself rather than for its uses : a quality in a consummate thing that induces immediate and disinterested pleasure : something that is beautiful as determined by subjective awareness and by such reactions as delightful sensation, moral exaltation, or reverie
the beauty of a silent eve — John Keats
b. : the characteristic value of a beautiful thing apart from any effect it produces : perfection of form attained through the flawless sensible manifestation of an artist's conception or by an independent self-subsistent product of the creative imagination
c.
(1) : the absolute perfection of the ideal or idea as suggested by or reflected in the relative sensuous perfection of works of art
(2) : the ideal itself apprehended through the medium of a beautiful thing
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English beautien, from beaute, n.
archaic : beautify
III. noun
: a quantum characteristic that accounts for the existence and lifetime of the upsilon particle ; also : a particle having this characteristic