A belle is a beautiful and charming young woman, especially one who attracts a lot of attention and admiration at social gatherings. The word comes from French, where belle simply means “beautiful.”

You might read about “the belle of the ball” in a story set at a formal dance, meaning the young woman everyone notices and wants to dance with. In the American South during the 1800s, a belle was a young woman known for her beauty, grace, and social skills at parties and dances.

The word appears in other contexts too: a Southern belle refers to a particular type of gracious, charming young woman from the American South.

Today the word sounds old-fashioned, like something from a historical novel or costume drama. You wouldn't typically call someone a belle in modern conversation, though you still might read it in books about earlier time periods or hear “belle of the ball” used playfully when someone looks especially nice at a party.