Dictionary

beau idéal en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈboʊ aɪˈdiːl/
• /-i.deɪˈæl/
• /-i.diˈæl/

Etymology

Borrowed from French beau idéal.

Meanings

1. Ideal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection.
   • I never knew any debatable point not maintained on both sides by unanswerable arguments; and yet you are angry that he has not thrown every advantage aside to enact your beau-idéal of patriotic excellence. 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 312:
2. An emulable eidolon embodying excellence in a particular respect.

Forms