beau, belle, bel (before vowel), belle

beau, belle, bel (before vowel), la belle (FR ADJ) beautiful, handsome, that which provokes an esthetic response, usually considered pleasing to the eye, or that gives rise to a feeling of admiration or satisfaction, that which is successful in its genre, by extension, that which is large, numerous or important, or by apposition, that which is bad or displeasing. (N-F) a beautiful or adored woman. First appears in French in the ninth century spelled bel, from Latin bellus (pretty). (Anon…