merveilleux
merveilleux Lexical Profile
merveilleux Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A traditional Belgian and French small pastry consisting of two light meringues sandwiched with whipped cream, typically coated in more whipped cream and dusted with chocolate shavings.
"We stopped at the patisserie to buy a box of chocolate merveilleux for the dinner party."
A male member of an aristocratic subculture in Paris during the French Directory (1795–1799), known for extravagant, eccentric fashion and affected manners as a reaction against the austerity of the Reign of Terror.
"The merveilleux paraded through the streets of Paris in their exaggeratedly large lapels and tight trousers."
Word Nuance & Usage
While in French 'merveilleux' primarily functions as a common adjective meaning 'marvelous', in English it is almost exclusively used as a noun to describe either the specific pastry or the historical 18th-century French dandies.
• Rhymes for merveilleux
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French 'merveilleux' (marvelous), originating from Old French 'merveillos'. It was applied as a noun to the extravagantly dressed youth of the French Directory in the late 1790s, and later adopted as the name for the light, whimsical pastry.