"beau geste" meaning in English

See beau geste in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: beaux gestes [plural]
Etymology: Borrowed from French beau geste (literally “beautiful gesture”). Etymology templates: {{bor|en|fr|beau geste|lit=beautiful gesture}} French beau geste (literally “beautiful gesture”) Head templates: {{en-noun|beaux gestes|nolinkhead=1}} beau geste (plural beaux gestes)
  1. A gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance. Translations (gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance): uppgerðargóðvild (english: fake benevolence) [feminine] (Icelandic), sýndardrengskapur (english: pretentious magnanimity) [masculine] (Icelandic), göfugmannlegt verk (english: a noble act) [neuter] (Icelandic), drengskaparbragð (english: an honourable deed) [neuter] (Icelandic), beau geste (Indonesian)

Inflected forms

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "beau geste",
        "lit": "beautiful gesture"
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      "expansion": "French beau geste (literally “beautiful gesture”)",
      "name": "bor"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from French beau geste (literally “beautiful gesture”).",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "beaux gestes",
      "tags": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "beaux gestes",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1920, “The Zionist Congresses”, in G. W. Prothero, editor, Zionism:",
          "text": "Chamberlain's offer was enthusiastically welcomed by a section of the Zionists and by all with gratitude. It was a beau geste on the part of the Government, and a recognition that Herzl and his following were regarded seriously in serious quarters.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988, William Manchester, The Last Lion, volume 2, page 635:",
          "text": "In a magnificent beau geste, the destroyer, hopelessly trapped, turned as if to flee, threw out a smoke screen, and when the [enemy ship] charged into it, rammed her at flank speed […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance."
      ],
      "id": "en-beau_geste-en-noun-HiMy1Jq3",
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "is",
          "english": "fake benevolence",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "uppgerðargóðvild"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "english": "pretentious magnanimity",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sýndardrengskapur"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "english": "a noble act",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "göfugmannlegt verk"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "english": "an honourable deed",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "drengskaparbragð"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
          "word": "beau geste"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "beau geste"
}
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      },
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      "name": "bor"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from French beau geste (literally “beautiful gesture”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "beaux gestes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
        "1": "beaux gestes",
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      "expansion": "beau geste (plural beaux gestes)",
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  ],
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          "text": "Chamberlain's offer was enthusiastically welcomed by a section of the Zionists and by all with gratitude. It was a beau geste on the part of the Government, and a recognition that Herzl and his following were regarded seriously in serious quarters.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988, William Manchester, The Last Lion, volume 2, page 635:",
          "text": "In a magnificent beau geste, the destroyer, hopelessly trapped, turned as if to flee, threw out a smoke screen, and when the [enemy ship] charged into it, rammed her at flank speed […]",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
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        "A gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance."
      ]
    }
  ],
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    {
      "code": "is",
      "english": "fake benevolence",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "uppgerðargóðvild"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "english": "pretentious magnanimity",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sýndardrengskapur"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "english": "a noble act",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "göfugmannlegt verk"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "english": "an honourable deed",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "drengskaparbragð"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance",
      "word": "beau geste"
    }
  ],
  "word": "beau geste"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-31 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (bcd5c38 and 9dbd323). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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