Belles-lettres

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Belles-lettres \Belles-let"tres\, n. pl. [F.]
     Polite or elegant literature; the humanities; -- used
     somewhat vaguely for literary works in which imagination and
     taste are predominant.
     [1913 Webster] Belletristic



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  belles-lettres
       n : creative writing valued for esthetic content [syn: {belles
           lettres}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  27 Moby Thesaurus words for "belles-lettres":
     French literature, Renaissance literature, ancient literature,
     classics, contemporary literature, erotic literature, erotica,
     folk literature, humane letters, kitsch, letters, literature,
     medieval literature, national literature, obscene literature,
     polite literature, pop literature, popular literature,
     pornographic literature, pornography, pseudonymous literature,
     republic of letters, scatological literature, serious literature,
     travel literature, underground literature, wisdom literature