belles-lettres Hear it!

belles-lettres definition

belles-lettres (bel le′tr', -trə)

plural noun

literature as one of the fine arts; imaginative writings as distinguished from technical and scientific writings, esp. when characterized by a polished, highly literary style and, often, a somewhat dilettantish manner

Etymology: Fr, lit., beautiful letters, fine literature

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.