DictionaryRoot: bel
Old French

bel

beautiful

1 / 1
At a craft table, a person decorates a plain jacket with beads, patches, and extra dramatic flourishes until it looks far more ornate.
verb

embellish

im-BEL-ish/ɪmˈbelɪʃ/

To add decorative details to make something more attractive.

Etymology

The pieces express “make beautiful,” the word’s original meaning. Decorating something with ornaments or added details is a direct continuation of that idea.

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