bagatelle - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bag·a·telle

Audio Help [bag-uh-tel] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	something of little value or importance; a trifle.

2.	a game played on a board having holes at one end into which balls are to be struck with a cue.

pinball.

4.	a short and light musical composition, typically for the piano.

[Origin: 1630–40; < F < Upper It bagat(t)ella, equiv. to bagatt(a) small possession (perh. bag(a) berry (< L bāca; cf bay⁴) + -att(a) dim. suffix) + -ella < L -illa dim. suffix

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
bagatelle

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bag·a·telle Audio Help (bāg'ə-těl') Pronunciation Key
n.

An unimportant or insignificant thing; a trifle.
A short, light piece of verse or music.
A game played on an oblong table with a cue and balls.

[French, from Italian bagatella, diminutive of dialectal bagata, little property, possibly from Latin bāca, berry.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bagatelle

1637, "a trifle," from Fr., from It. bagatella "a trifle," dim. of L. baca "berry." As "a piece of light music," it is attested from 1827.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

bagatelle
noun
1.	a light piece of music for piano
2.	something of little value or significance
3.	a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bagatelle

Bag`a*telle"\, n. [F., fr. It. bagatella; cf. Prov. It. bagata trifle, OF. bague, Pr. bagua, bundle. See Bag, n.]

1. A trifle; a thing of no importance.

Rich trifles, serious bagatelles. --Prior.

2. A game played on an oblong board, having, at one end, cups or arches into or through which balls are to be driven by a rod held in the hand of the player.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

bagatelle

bagatelle was Word of the Day on August 6, 2002.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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