billet-doux

bil·let-doux

[bil-ey-doo, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo]
noun, plural bil·lets-doux [bil-ey-dooz, bil-ee-; French bee-yey-doo] .
a love letter.

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

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World English Dictionary
billet-doux (ˌbɪlɪˈduː, French bijɛdu) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
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
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00:10
Billet-doux is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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