bibelot

[ bib-loh; French beebuh-loh ]
/ ˈbɪb loʊ; French bibəˈloʊ /

noun, plural bi·be·lots [bib-lohz; French beebuh-loh] /ˈbɪb loʊz; French bibəˈloʊ/.

a small object of curiosity, beauty, or rarity.

Origin of bibelot

1870–75; < French, equivalent to bibel- (expressive formation akin to bauble) + -ot noun suffix

Words nearby bibelot

Example sentences from the Web for bibelot

  • Met him at the Bibelot once, and he was telling us how he attempted to make a fire with a couple of sticks.

    The Sea-Wolf |Jack London
  • I set to work at once, and in a very little while my bibelot was selected.

  • Regarded as a bibelot, Mrs. Wigger was, I think, of the first perfection.

    Turns about Town |Robert Cortes Holliday
  • She was terribly hurt; in her heart she had always feared her husband regarded her as a bibelot.

    The Twelfth Hour |Ada Leverson

British Dictionary definitions for bibelot

bibelot
/ (ˈbɪbləʊ, French biblo) /

noun

an attractive or curious trinket
a miniature book

Word Origin for bibelot

C19: from French, from Old French beubelet, perhaps from a reduplication of bel beautiful