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# beau

noun (a beau, beaux or beaus); French word (beau)

«beau» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (old-fashioned) A beau is a boyfriend or a man who is courting a woman. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#m1)
2. (French) Beau is a French adjective meaning «beautiful» or «handsome» (masculine form), as in «beau temps» (fine weather); it sounds like English «bow» (the knot) or «bo». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#m2)
3. Beau can also be a boy's name (a name). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#m3)

### In the lessons

In old novels and historical stories, a young woman's «beau» is the man who wants to marry her. In French lessons, «beau» describes a handsome boy or nice weather: «Il fait beau» means «The weather is fine». Phrases: «her beau», «Il fait beau» (French).

### Examples

- In the old story, Lizzie waited for her beau at the dance. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x1)
- Aunt Sue's new beau brought her flowers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x2)
- In French, «Il fait beau» means «It's a nice day». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x3)
- «Un beau chien» is French for «a handsome dog». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x4)
- Beau is the name of the boy next door. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x5)
- Grandma laughed and called Grandpa her old beau. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/#x6)

### Note

Pronounced «boh», like «bow» (the ribbon). English plural is «beaux» (also said «bohz») or «beaus». In French, the feminine form is «belle», and before a vowel it becomes «bel». Old-fashioned in English; today people say «boyfriend».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «beau» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/beau/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«beau» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/beau.html) on Mova free.