Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A pleasant and affable disposition; geniality.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner.
Wiktionary
- n. Geniality; friendliness; a pleasant, friendly, good-natured manner; an affable and approachable disposition; frank and simple good-heartedness.
- n. Friendly atmosphere; an atmosphere of good cheer.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. good nature; pleasant and easy manner.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to)
Etymologies
- Borrowed from French bonhomie; from bonhomme ("good-natured man"); from bon ("good") + homme ("man"). (Wiktionary)
- French, from bonhomme, good-natured man : bon, good (from Latin bonus; see deu-2 in Indo-European roots) + homme, man (from Latin homō; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The manners of the time had obviously a _bonhomie_ of their own -- certainly so on our particularly indulgent and humane little field; as to which general proposition the later applications and transformations of the bonhomie would be interesting to trace.”
“At this particular moment in our nation, ironic bonhomie is no substitute for making a stone cold sober decision to turn our political will into greater political power.”
“If Lakshmi Mittal was expecting just a smidgen of bonhomie from the French government over his hostile offer for Arcelor, he's a naive soul indeed.”
“(This bonhomie is borne out in testimonial after testimonial in the documentary Hugh Hefner: American Playboy.”
“The self effacement is uneccessary and merely invites "consensus building" and bonhomie, which is fucking pathetic and part of the problem with Franlin's little domesticated neverland to flog a dead horse”
“I believe this is the first time I have ever used the word "bonhomie" in anything I have ever written.”
The Huffington Post: Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens: Fetuses Gone Wild!
“Yeoville house exudes the kind of bonhomie that could only be borne of an Irish-Afrikaner union, and he loves his job at the Development Bank; particularly his daily interaction with Afrikaners he once spurned.”
“The very antipodes to the 'bonhomie' of this figure, confronted him as croupier at the foot of the table.”
“Although the Classic Rock story stated that the band's Abu Dhabi performance was filled with "bonhomie," that is clearly not the case offstage.”
“Christmas is always a busy time for our street rats who will often use 'bonhomie' as an excuse for their thuggery.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bonhomie’.
-
important
shamanism, consol, sanguine, iffy, affinity, concatenation, honed, innumberable, aiden, inexorable, vet, suss and 176 more...
-
Another 250 Spelling Words
Another range of words from the intermediate to the advanced speller's level.
cherimoya, parthenogenesis, sommelier, bupkis, kichel, voulge, indivisibility, retiarius, sewellel, vihuela, ossature, jalfrezi and 238 more...
-
GRE 2014
abate, abdicate, abase, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
-
Franco
fin-de-siècle, sang-froid, minatory, loup, son et lumière, bonhomie, l'heure bleue, frippery, pamplemousse, adieu, au revoir, visage and 22 more...
-
man gre
abase, abeyance, abreast, abscission, abscond, abyss, accede, accretion, acerbic, acidulous, acumen, adulterate and 483 more...
-
Knee Deep in Chic
Words, prose, bon mots, and literary styles that cause a contagious enthusiasm by its very existence. They can be muses to a story. rekindling the spark that went out. The cure-all elixir to a bla...
euphuism, quiddity, saudade, zugzwang, razbliuto, parti pris, oleaginous, crevasse, chantepleure, chiaroscuro, prestidigitation, dysphemism and 79 more...
-
• The bonhomous lynchpin - And other ...
plinth, starboard, bonhomie, bulkhead, brethren, gabardine, anon, lynchpin, vine, yoke, sequin, marigold and 12 more...
-
gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1847 more...
-
ecbrenner's list
flatline, luddism, apocalipstick, muttsucker, leviathan of fore..., flint, coryphaeus, donnybrook, bandwidth, bagpipe the mizen, cheesed off, asterism and 525 more...
-
Dictionary.com Words of the Days of 1999
1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008
emolument, palindrome, deprecate, bivouac, umbrage, incipient, dapple, pugnacious, capitulate, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious and 229 more...
-
To Learn
enervate, redolent, distaff, approbation, arrogate, bonhomie, palliate, calumny, panoply, contumacious, edify, dyspeptic and 188 more...
-
bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1402 more...
-
traipsin' 'long through dis 'ear book...
Words which are either entirely new to me or;
Words which I comprehend generally but would prefer a more precise definition.
venality, seigneurial, mendicant, perforce, manse, glebe, trenchant, saw, obstreperous, profligate, dissipation, galliard and 176 more...
-
1st cut
abeyance, abscission, abyss, accretion, acidulous, adulterate, adumbrate, aerie, ameliorate, anachoronistic, analgesia, anodyne and 315 more...
-
qualities
-
Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for bonhomie.
Prolagus
(Calamity song, by The Decemberists)
(*) No. Jan 19, 2011