Word of the Day

Monday, May 21, 2001

bibelot

\BEE-buh-loh\ , noun;

A small decorative object without practical utility; a trinket.

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Quotes:

An inveterate collector, Feldman purchased paintings and bibelots in quantity, often sight unseen.

-- Barbara Leaming, Marilyn Monroe

They break in expecting to find a collection of bibelots, objets de vertu, exquisite porcelain, Elizabethan miniatures, 18th century Italian fiddles, cabinets of curiosa, shelves of first editions, rare erotic manuscripts, rooms full of exquisite things: the fine and delicate treasures of a fine and delicate creature.

-- Simon Barnes, "Villains who are wiser after the event", Times (London), January 10, 2001

Fragonard's aristocrats gamboled in high-heeled boots and feathered hats on the front faces of the maroon table lamps, curlicued gilt mirrors, inexplicable bibelots: a venetian glass lady's slipper, a floral cup and saucer stood on a shelf beside life-size heads of the Mater Dolorosa and of Jesus suffering beneath the Crown of Thorns.

-- Mary Gordon, Seeing Through Places

Origin:

Bibelot is from French, from Old French beubelot, beubelet, "a small jewel, a trinket," from a reduplication of bel, "beautiful," from Latin bellus, "pretty, handsome." It is related to bauble.