what do you call a person who is not a writer but loves to study words anyway? whatever that is, this thread is for that person.
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okay, the word I want to share today is the word
beau, and yup, that also happens to be my first name (really).
1. Origin - it's actually from the french words bel and beau which both mean handsome. (i think belle is the feminine form...french nouns have gender.) the french word bel comes from the latin word bellus which means beautiful.
2. Pronunciation - boh (long o sound...dili byu!)
3. Part of speech and meaning - okay, so the word is not only used a noun but also as a verb! I only learned about the latter today...see, it's always good to check the dictionary from time to time.
–noun
1. a frequent and attentive male companion
2. a male escort for a girl or woman
3. a dandy; fop
–verb (used with object)
4. to escort (a girl or woman), as to a social gathering --> this is interesting. im not sure of the inflections. perhaps beau, beaud, beauing? the source doesn't show these eh. oh well, if those are correct then we can say, "Brad Pitt beaud Ms.Beau to her victory party." acheche...that may seem funny but funny examples help you remember more *wink*
4. related word is beauish (adjective). i guess this is based on meaning #3 above. beauish = dandyish
so, why in the world was I named Beau when the word means boyfriend? did my mother miss to check the meaning? don't worry, she didn't. my complete first name is Beau Ideal and this phrase has another meaning. but of course that will be in another word study session.
source:
www.dictionary.com