English
beauty
Beauty comes from Old French beauté, from Vulgar Latin *bellitātem ‘beauty’, from Latin bellus ‘beautiful’, from Old Latin duenos ‘good’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenos‘good’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenos‘good’
- Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*duenelosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellus‘beautiful, pretty’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bellitātem‘beauty’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400beauté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewty
- Englishearliest quotation 1653beauty
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dwenos‘good’reconstructed
- Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEduenos‘good’
- Old Latin, derivedc. 700–75 BCE*duenelosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbellus‘beautiful, pretty’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*bellitātem‘beauty’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400beauté
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bewty
- Englishearliest quotation 1653beauty
Earliest quotation: 1653, The Mysteriousness and Duties of Marriage.] Part II.”: “Menander in the comedy brings in a man turning…”
The story
In this sense, mostly displaced native Old English fæġernes, whence Modern English fairness.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- ‘to fit’
down, town, tool, teen, dynamic, tow, dynasty, dun, dynamo, dynastic, tine, taw, benefice, 94 more
through Proto-Italic *dwenos ‘good’
bonus, ben, optimal, beneficial, rebellion, bonnie, optimism, boon, beneficiary, rebellious, bonny, bene, rebelling, bonbon, 38 more
through Old Latin duenos
through Old Latin *duenelos
rebel, revel, bellicose, 20 more
through Latin bellus ‘beautiful, fair’
Today it means
noun The quality of being (especially visually) attractive, pleasing, fine or good-looking; comeliness.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *dwenos / beauty