(ˈ)ā|klä, -lȧ noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, splinter, fragment, explosion, ostentation, from Old French esclat splinter, from esclater to splinter, burst, probably from (assumed) Vulgar Latin exclapitare, from Latin ex- + (assumed) Vulgar Latin clapitare, probably of imitative origin
1. : dazzling effect : brilliance
the stern imagery and rhetorical éclat of the first stanza — Robert Lowell
: display of pomp or pageantry
arrived with much éclat , entering the capital in a coach of state drawn by eight milk-white horses — C.G.Bowers
: dash , energy
the croupiers … spin the wheel with éclat — Joseph Wechsberg
2.
a. : public display or ostentation : publicity
this letter was sprung … with great éclat … in public hearing — New Republic
b. archaic : notoriety , scandal
with the object of saving an éclat — Lord Byron
3. : brilliant or conspicuous success
dominated the House of Commons with éclat — C.H.Driver
: fame , renown
handed down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb — Jane Austen
: applause
gave me more éclat than my efforts merited — S.H.Adams
Synonyms: see fame