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billet-doux

[bil-ey-doo, bil-ee-; Fr. bee-yey-doo]

Origin

noun, plural bil·lets-doux

[bil-ey-dooz, bil-ee-; Fr. bee-yey-doo] .

a love letter.

Origin:
1665–75; < French: literally, sweet note. See billet¹, douce

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Billet-doux is always a great word to know.

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a fool or simpleton; ninny.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

billet-doux (ˌbɪlɪˈduː, French bijɛdu)

—n , pl billets-doux
	old-fashioned, jocular or a love letter

[C17: from French, literally: a sweet letter, from billet (see billet¹) + doux sweet, from Latin dulcis]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

billet-doux

also billet doux, 1670s, "love letter," from Fr., lit. "sweet note," from billet "document, note" (dim. of bille; see bill (1)) + doux "sweet," from L. dulcis (see dulcet).

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"Here files of pins extend their shining rows,
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billet-doux

bil·let-doux