What does Belles-lettres mean?

Definitions for Belles-lettres
Fr. bɛlˈlɛ trəbelles-let·tres

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Belles-lettres.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. belles-lettres, belles lettresnoun

    creative writing valued for esthetic content

Wiktionary

  1. belles-lettresnoun

    literary works valued more for their aesthetic qualities than for any informative or educational content

Wikipedia

  1. Belles-lettres

    Belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejoratively for writing that focuses on the aesthetic qualities of language rather than its practical application. A writer of belles-lettres is a belletrist.

ChatGPT

  1. belles-lettres

    Belles-lettres is a term that refers to literary works valued for their aesthetic qualities and originality of style and tone, rather than their informational or educational content. This genre includes poetry, drama, fiction, and essays, often characterized by their sophistication, elegance, and refinement. Belles-lettres often explores artistic, creative, and philosophical themes. The term originates from French, with "belles" meaning "beautiful" and "lettres" meaning "letters" or "literature."

Webster Dictionary

  1. Belles-lettres

    polite or elegant literature; the humanities; -- used somewhat vaguely for literary works in which imagination and taste are predominant

Wikidata

  1. Belles-lettres

    Belles-lettres or belles lettres is a term that is used to describe a category of writing. A writer of belles-lettres is a belletrist. However, the boundaries of that category vary in different usages. Literally, belles-lettres is a French phrase meaning "beautiful" or "fine" writing. In this sense, therefore, it includes all literary works — especially fiction, poetry, drama, or essays — valued for their aesthetic qualities and originality of style and tone. The term thus can be used to refer to literature generally. The Nuttall Encyclopedia, for example, described belles-lettres as the "department of literature which implies literary culture and belongs to the domain of art, whatever the subject may be or the special form; it includes poetry, the drama, fiction, and criticism," while the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition describes it as "the more artistic and imaginative forms of literature, as poetry or romance, as opposed to more pedestrian and exact studies." However, for many modern purposes, belles lettres is used in a narrower sense to identify literary works that do not fall into other major categories, such as fiction, poetry or drama. Thus, it would include essays, récits, published collections of speeches and letters, satirical and humorous writings, and other miscellaneous works. The Oxford English Dictionary says that "it is now generally applied to the lighter branches of literature." The term remains in use among librarians and others who have to classify books: while a large library might have separate categories for essays, letters, humor and so forth, in libraries of modest size they are often all grouped together under the heading belles lettres.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Belles-lettres

    bel-let′r, n.pl. polite or elegant literature, including poetry, fiction, criticism, æsthetics, &c.—ns. Bellet′rist, Bellet′trist.—adj. Belletris′tic. [Fr., lit. 'fine letters.']

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Belles-lettres

    that department of literature which implies literary culture and belongs to the domain of art, whatever the subject may be or the special form; it includes poetry, the drama, fiction, and criticism.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Belles-lettres in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Belles-lettres in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1


Translations for Belles-lettres

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"Belles-lettres." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Belles-lettres>.

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