释义 |
beau·ty 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 |