debonair

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Old French debonaire, from the phrase de bon aire "of good stock, noble".

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /dɛbəˈneə(ɹ)/
  • (US) enPR: děb-ə-nɛr', IPA(key): /dɛbəˈnɛɹ/

Adjective

debonair (comparative more debonair, superlative most debonair)

  1. (obsolete) Gracious, courteous.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.vi:
      Let be that Ladie debonaire, / Thou recreant knight, and soone thy selfe prepaire / To battell [...].
  2. Suave, urbane and sophisticated.
  3. (especially of men) Charming, confident, and carefully dressed.

Translations

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