bibelot

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bibelot.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /bib(ə)loʊ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /bib(ə)ləʊ/

Noun

bibelot (plural bibelots)

1. A bauble, knickknack or trinket.
   • 1886, F. Marion Crawford, A Tale of a Lonely Parish, 2012, Project Gutenberg (Tredition Classics), unnumbered page,

     In her own eyes she was indeed living in a state approaching to penury, but the spectacle of her pictures, her furniture and her bibelots had impressed John with a very different idea.

   • 1960, Arthur Kober, George Oppenheimer, A Mighty Man is He, Dramatists Play Service, page 31:

     Barbara's glance now falls on the bibelot, which she picks up. She catches sight of the curtain and, bibelot in hand, goes to align it. She suddenly becomes aware of the bibelot in her hand.

   • 2008, Willa Z. Silverman, The New Bibliopolis: French Book Collectors and the Culture of Print, 1880-1914, University of Toronto Press, page 191:

     Excluded from the world of 'true,' high culture, women, it was claimed, loved books primarily as bibelots, like silks, lace, sconces, fans, or porcelain.

2. A miniature book of an elegant design.

Translations

bauble

• Finnish: pikku koriste-esine, pikkuesine, muistoesine (fi)
• Polish: bibelot (pl) m

Anagrams

• biobelt

French

Etymology

From an onomatopoeic root bib-. Compare English bauble and Old French baubel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.blo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bibelot m (plural bibelots)

1. knick-knack, bauble

Derived terms

• bibelotage
• bibeloter
• bibeloteur
• bibelotier

Descendants

• → Polish: bibelot
• → Portuguese: bibelô, bibelot (proscribed)

Further reading

• “bibelot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French bibelot. First attested in 1883.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biˈbɛ.lɔt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlɔt
• Syllabification: bi‧be‧lot

Noun

bibelot m inan (diminutive bibelocik)

1. (literary) bibelot, knick-knack

   Synonyms: błyskotka, cacko, fatałach, ozdóbka

   antyczny bibelot ― an antique bibelot

   cenny bibelot ― a valuable bibelot

   stary bibelot ― an old bibelot

   kolekcjonować/zbierać bibeloty ― to collect bibelots

Declension

Declension of bibelot

	singular	plural
nominative	bibelot	bibeloty
genitive	bibelotu	bibelotów
dative	bibelotowi	bibelotom
accusative	bibelot	bibeloty
instrumental	bibelotem	bibelotami
locative	bibelocie	bibelotach
vocative	bibelocie	bibeloty

Further reading

• bibelot in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bibelot in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Noun

bibelot m (plural bibelots)

1. (proscribed) Alternative form of bibelô