What does bejewelling mean?
To bejewel something is to adorn it with jewels, and 'bejewelling' is its present participle and gerund — the act or process of doing so. The verb can be applied literally, as when a courtier bejewels a gown or a crown, or figuratively, when writers describe frost bejewelling a hedgerow or stars bejewelling the night sky. Because it implies dense, glittering coverage rather than modest ornamentation, the word carries a connotation of opulence, luxury, and visual brilliance. Formed with the intensifying prefix 'be-' attached to 'jewel', it belongs to a small family of 'be-' verbs that turn nouns into actions of covering or decorating, such as 'bedeck' and 'bespangle'. British English favours the double-l spelling 'bejewelling', while American English prefers 'bejeweling'. The word is literary rather than colloquial, making it a favourite of descriptive prose and fashion writing alike.
verbThe present participle and gerund of the verb 'bejewel': to decorate or adorn something with jewels, or to cover it so densely with sparkling objects that it resembles a jewel-studded surface.
- To adorn or ornament someone or something with jewels.
- To cover a surface so thickly with glittering things — literal gems or metaphorical ones like stars or dewdrops — that it appears studded with jewels.
"The night sky hung over the desert like a black velvet canopy bejewelling itself with stars."
"She arrived at the gala bejewelling her neckline with a sapphire pendant that caught every light in the room."
"Morning frost was bejewelling the spiderwebs along the hedge in tiny crystals."
When you call a starry sky 'bejewelled', you're using a verb built on the same ancient root as the word 'joy' — decoration and delight literally share an origin.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bejewelling
'Bejewelling' derives from the verb 'bejewel', formed in English by attaching the prefix 'be-' to 'jewel'. The noun 'jewel' entered English in the Middle Ages from Old French 'joel' or 'jouel', a diminutive of 'jou' meaning 'joy', which traces back to the Latin 'gaudium', meaning joy or delight. This makes 'jewel' a distant relative of words like 'joy', 'enjoy', and 'gaudy', all descending from that same Latin root of pleasure and rejoicing.
Related word forms
How bejewelling is actually used
The '-ll-' spellings ('bejewelled', 'bejewelling') are standard in British English, while American English typically uses single '-l-' forms ('bejeweled', 'bejeweling'). The word carries a connotation of lavish, opulent decoration and is often used figuratively for natural scenes — dew, frost, stars — that glitter like gems. It is somewhat literary in register rather than everyday.
Easily confused with bejewelling
'Embellishing' means adding any decorative details to improve something, while 'bejewelling' specifically means covering or adorning something with jewels or jewel-like sparkles.