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belles-lettres

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
belles-let·tres  (bl-ltr)
pl.n. (used with a sing. verb)
1. Literature regarded for its aesthetic value rather than its didactic or informative content.
2. Light, stylish writings, usually on literary or intellectual subjects.
[French : belles, fine + lettres, letters, literature.]
belles-lettres [bell-let-tra]
Noun
literary works, particularly essays and poetry [French]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.belles-lettres - creative writing valued for esthetic content
belles lettres
literary composition, literary work - imaginative or creative writing


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
A competent knowledge of history and of the belles-lettres is here absolutely necessary; and without this share of knowledge at least, to affect the character of an historian, is as vain as to endeavour at building a house without timber or mortar, or brick or stone.
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Fielding, Henry View in context
So are made the belles-lettres and the beaux-arts and their professors.
Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau, Henry David View in context
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