English Explanatory Dictionary

bagatelle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A trifle; an insubstantial thing.
  2. A short piece of literature or of instrumental music, typically light or playful in character.
  3. A game similar to billiards played on an oblong table with pockets or arches at one end only.
  4. Any of several smaller wooden tabletop games developed from the original bagatelle in which the pockets are made of pins.
verb
  1. To meander or move around, in a manner similar to the ball in the game of bagatelle.
  2. To bagatellize; to regard as a bagatelle.

Pronunciation

/ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bagatelle.wav

Word forms

bagatelle bagatelles bagatelling bagatelled

Etymology

Borrowed from French bagatelle, from Italian bagattella.

Synonyms

bag of shells bagatelle bric-a-brac dicky dicky-bird fico fig flamfew flyspeck minuity niff-naff picayune scuddick sop ticky-tack toy trick trifle triviality whiffle white chip pin bagatelle hit-a-pin bagatelle jaw ball

Related words

carom pachinko pinball

Derived words

bagatellize Russian bagatelle

Translations

Finnish: fortuna
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