ETYM Old Eng. beaute, beute, Old Fren. beauté, biauté, Pr. beltat, French beauté, from an assumed Late Lat. bellitas, from Latin bellus pretty. Related to Beau.
1. An outstanding example of its kind; SYN. beaut.<br /> 2. The qualities that give pleasure to the senses.
The property of, or combination of qualities in, objects or people giving rise to pleasure or delight. The branch of philosophy that deals with beauty is esthetics.
There are various philosophical theories about beauty. It may stand for a felt or intuited quality, or for a causal property evoking a special reaction in us, or even for the expression of nonpossessive love.