bagatelle


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bag·a·telle

 (băg′ə-tĕl′)
n.
1. An unimportant or insignificant thing; a trifle.
2. A short, light piece of verse or music.
3. A game played on an oblong table with a cue and nine balls.

[French, from Italian bagatella, diminutive of dialectal bagata, little property, possibly from Latin bāca, berry.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bagatelle

(ˌbæɡəˈtɛl)
n
1. something of little value or significance; trifle
2. (Games, other than specified) a board game in which balls are struck into holes, with pins as obstacles; pinball
3. (Billiards & Snooker) another name for bar billiards
4. (Classical Music) a short light piece of music, esp for piano
[C17: from French, from Italian bagattella, from (dialect) bagatta a little possession, from baga a possession, probably from Latin bāca berry]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bag•a•telle

(ˌbæg əˈtɛl)

n.
1. something of little value or importance; a trifle.
2. a game similar to billiards played on a board with holes on one end.
3. a short and light musical composition.
[1630–40; < French < Upper Italian bagat(t)ella, derivative of bagatta small possession]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

bagatelle

- From French or Italian for "trick" or "trifle."
See also related terms for trifle.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.bagatelle - a light piece of music for pianobagatelle - a light piece of music for piano  
musical composition, opus, piece of music, composition, piece - a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements"
2.bagatelle - something of little value or significance
small beer, trivia, triviality, trifle - something of small importance
3.bagatelle - a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegsbagatelle - a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over
table game - a game that is played on a table
Britain, Great Britain, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; `Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
bagatellebagatellifortunapikkuseikka

bagatelle

[ˌbægəˈtel] N
1. (= trifle) → bagatela f
2. (= board game) → bagatelle f
3. (Billiards) → billar m romano
4. (Mus) → bagatela f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bagatelle

n
(liter: = trifle) → Bagatelle f
(= game)Tivoli nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
"What is the title of the book?" asked Don Quixote; to which the author replied, "Senor, in Italian the book is called Le Bagatelle."
"And what does Le Bagatelle import in our Spanish?" asked Don Quixote.
"Le Bagatelle," said the author, "is as though we should say in Spanish Los Juguetes; but though the book is humble in name it has good solid matter in it."
Breakfast had been ordered at a pleasant little tavern, a mile or so away upon the rising ground beyond the Green, and there was a bagatelle board in the room, in case we should desire to unbend our minds after the solemnity.
"Overdue" was the title he had decided for it, and its length he believed would not be more than sixty thousand words - a bagatelle for him with his splendid vigor of production.
He was a member of the Baldwin, the Cavendish, and the Bagatelle card clubs.
The Anglo-Indian, the Tankerville, the Bagatelle Card Club.
It was a moral bagatelle to the treacherous trick he was to play me a few weeks later.
Beside it burglary was a bagatelle, but one to deprecate none the less.
But once again the Green had to pay the penalty of not having a bagatelle table and had to concede the winning point.
A choreographer once commented, "If you haven't got a name for your dance, you probably don't have a dance." The title of Richard Tanner's Operetta Affezionata (loosely translated, "Affectionate Bagatelle") finally surfaced on the day of the premiere.