bibelot

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bibelot.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /bib(ə)loʊ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /bib(ə)ləʊ/

Noun

bibelot (plural bibelots)

1. A bauble, knickknack or trinket.
   • 1886, F. Marion Crawford, A Tale of a Lonely Parish, 2012, Project Gutenberg (Tredition Classics), unnumbered page,

     In her own eyes she was indeed living in a state approaching to penury, but the spectacle of her pictures, her furniture and her bibelots had impressed John with a very different idea.

   • 1960, Arthur Kober, George Oppenheimer, A Mighty Man is He, Dramatists Play Service, page 31:

     Barbara's glance now falls on the bibelot, which she picks up. She catches sight of the curtain and, bibelot in hand, goes to align it. She suddenly becomes aware of the bibelot in her hand.

   • 2008, Willa Z. Silverman, The New Bibliopolis: French Book Collectors and the Culture of Print, 1880-1914, University of Toronto Press, page 191:

     Excluded from the world of 'true,' high culture, women, it was claimed, loved books primarily as bibelots, like silks, lace, sconces, fans, or porcelain.

2. A miniature book of an elegant design.

Translations

bauble

Finnish: pikku koriste-esine, pikkuesine, muistoesine (fi) Polish: bibelot (pl) m

Anagrams

• biobelt

French

Etymology

From an onomatopoeic root bib-. Compare English bauble and Old French baubel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.blo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bibelot m (plural bibelots)

1. knick-knack, bauble

Derived terms

• bibelotage
• bibeloter
• bibeloteur
• bibelotier

Descendants

• → Polish: bibelot
• → Portuguese: bibelô, bibelot (proscribed)

Further reading

• “bibelot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.