What does beaux mean?
Beaux is the traditional plural of "beau," a noun borrowed from French meaning a woman's male admirer, suitor, or sweetheart. The word typically evokes an earlier, more formal era of courtship: a young woman at a ball might be attended by several beaux competing for her attention, and in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century usage a beau could also mean a fashionable, elegantly dressed man about town. Today the word sounds literary or period rather than current, though it survives in historical fiction, costume drama, and phrases such as "an array of beaux." It is pronounced /boʊz/ (rhyming with "goes"), which can surprise readers expecting a pronunciation matching its French-derived spelling. A related anglicized plural, "beaus," is also standard English.
noun (plural)Beaux is the plural of "beau": a woman's male admirer or suitor, especially one noted for his fashionable dress and courtly manners.
- Plural of "beau": a woman's boyfriend, sweetheart, or male admirer.
- A fashionable, well-dressed man who pays court to women; a dandy or gallant.
"In her debut season she was surrounded by beaux eager to claim a dance."
"The young heiress received flowers daily from her devoted beaux."
"Eighteenth-century drawing rooms were filled with powdered beaux trading compliments and gossip."
"Beaux" preserves the French-style plural of the borrowed word "beau" and is the traditional form; "beaus" follows regular English pluralization and is fully standard today. Both are pronounced /boʊz/.
"She kept portraits of her youthful beaux on the mantelpiece."
Though spelled like the "beaux" in Beaux-Arts, this word is simply the plural of beau — and it's pronounced "bohz," not "bohks."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of beaux
Beaux comes from the French adjective beau, meaning "beautiful" or "handsome," itself derived from Latin bellus, "pretty, charming." In French, beaux is simply the masculine plural of beau, and English adopted both the singular and the plural when it borrowed the word in the seventeenth century for a fashionable male admirer. The same Latin root bellus underlies English words such as "belle," "beauty," and "embellish," as well as the Italian bello and Spanish bello.
Related word forms
How beaux is actually used
The word carries a distinctly old-fashioned, romantic, or literary flavor; in modern everyday English speakers more often say "boyfriends" or "admirers." The anglicized spelling "beaus" is also accepted. It is used almost exclusively of men courting or admiring women.
Easily confused with beaux
"Bows" (rhyming with cows) are curved weapons or knots with loops, while "beaux" (/boʊz/) is the plural of beau, meaning male admirers.
"Beaus" is an anglicized variant spelling of the same plural; "beaux" preserves the original French form.