elegance en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈɛl.ɪ.ɡəns/
Etymology
From Middle French élégance, from Latin ēlegantia (“exquisiteness; refinement, elegance”).
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) Grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.
The bride was elegance personified.
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(uncountable, usually) Restraint and grace of style.
The simple dress had a quiet elegance.
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(uncountable, usually) The beauty of an idea characterized by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision.
The proof of the theorem had a pleasing elegance.
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(countable, dated, usually) A refinement or luxury.
At Rome, when Sallust was the fashionable writer, short sentences, uncommon words, and an obscure brevity, were affected as so many elegances.
1881, Isaac D'Israeli, Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1:Phineas Duge[…] was, for a man of affairs and an American, singularly fond of the small elegances of life. Although he sat alone at dinner, the table was heaped with choice flowers and carefully selected hothouse fruit.
1909, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 10, in The Governors:As to the comforts and elegances of life, we have enough of them for our good.
1852, Various, Young Americans Abroad:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| elegances | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
piss-elegance · creeping elegance · overelegance · elegancy · superelegance
Relateds
Translations (68)
da elegance (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · bn জামাল (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fr finesse (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ga gléastacht (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · tl elegansya (restraint and grace in style) · sv elegans (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · da smagfuldhed (restraint and grace in style) · bg елега́нтност (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · cmn 優雅 /优雅 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · hi लालित्य (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · cmn 高雅 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · nl elegantie (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fr grâce (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · de Eleganz (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · grc εὐσχημοσύνη (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ja 典雅 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · pl elegancja (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · nn eleganse (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · pt elegância (restraint and grace in style) · pl elegancja (restraint and grace in style) · tl elegansya (refinement or luxury) · ro grație (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ru элега́нтность (beauty of an idea) · ro finețe (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · gl elegancia (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fi tyyli (restraint and grace in style) · bg изи́сканост (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ro eleganță (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ga cuannacht (beauty of an idea) · aa bilqá (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fi eleganssi (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · cs elegance (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · tl kagandahan (beauty of an idea) · te సొంపు (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ko 기품 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · mi purotutanga (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fi tyylikkyys (restraint and grace in style) · fr élégance (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ja 高雅 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ar أَنَاقَة (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ga gléastacht (restraint and grace in style) · ru изы́сканность (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ru элега́нтность (restraint and grace in style) · fi tyylikkyys (beauty of an idea) · uk елега́нтність (restraint and grace in style) · hi शिष्टता (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · qu k'acha (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fi ylellisyys (refinement or luxury) · ga gléastacht (refinement or luxury) · fi hienostuneisuus (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ko 우아 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · ru изы́сканность (restraint and grace in style) · fi eleganssi (restraint and grace in style) · ru элега́нтность (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · bg изтънченост (restraint and grace in style) · ca elegància (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · uk елега́нтність (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · bg елега́нтност (beauty of an idea) · ru изя́щество (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · tl elegansya (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · uk ви́шуканість (restraint and grace in style) · ko 고아 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · uk ви́шуканість (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · fi eleganssi (beauty of an idea) · pt elegância (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · da elegance (restraint and grace in style) · ja 優雅 (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners) · nb eleganse (grace, refinement, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners)