bon ton
English
Etymology
Borrowed from French bon ton (literally “good tone”).
Noun
bon ton (uncountable)
- (dated) The height of fashion; fashionable society.
- 1839, The Quarterly Review[1], volume 64, page 555:
- This part of the proposition is very popular, particularly with the higher and middle classes, because it is the fashion, and a mark of bon ton, to enclose one's letter in an envelope, even though, or perhaps because, it subjects it to double postage.
Related terms
References
- “bon ton”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French bon ton (literally “good tone”).
Noun
bon ton m (invariable)
- sophistication, fashionability
- 2007, Laila Waida., Amiche per la pelle:
- Lula è la nostra maestra di bonton; cerca di renderci più sofisticate.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Polish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French bon ton.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbɔw̃ ˈtɔw̃/
Audio: (file) - Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]
Noun
bon ton m inan
- (literary) savoir-vivre
- Synonym: savoir-vivre
Declension
Declension of bon ton
| singular | |
|---|---|
| nominative | bon ton |
| genitive | bon tonu |
| dative | bon tonowi |
| accusative | bon ton |
| instrumental | bon tonem |
| locative | bon tonie |
| vocative | bon tonie |
or
Indeclinable.