beau

Etymology

Borrowed from French beau, from Latin bellus (“beautiful”). Doublet of bello.

noun

1. (dated) A man with a reputation for fine dress and etiquette; a dandy or fop.
2. (dated) A male lover; a boyfriend.
   Hannah's beau takes all her time 'n' thought, and when she gits a husband her mother'll be out o' sight and out o' mind. 1917, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, page 142
   Kristin Davis has taken time out to enjoy the surf and sand with her Australian beau, photographer Russell James. Dec 10 2009, Philippa Bourke, Monsters and Critics
   Reporters ask her about her love life—her current beau is rumored to be Conor Kennedy, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy—even if they get nowhere. 2012-10-24, Jon Caramanica, “No More Kid Stuff for Taylor Swift”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. A male escort.
4. A suitor of a lady.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To act as a beau (towards); to court or woo.
   Everyone was feeling grandacious, as if getting dressed for a night of beauing. 2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 74