éclat

[ ey-klah; French ey-kla ]

noun

1. brilliance of success, reputation, etc.:

   the éclat of a great achievement.

2. showy or elaborate display:

   a performance of great éclat.

3. acclamation; acclaim.

éclat

/ eɪˈklɑː; ekla /

noun

1. brilliant or conspicuous success, effect, etc
2. showy display; ostentation
3. social distinction
4. approval; acclaim; applause

Word History and Origins

Origin of éclat¹

1665–75; < French: splinter, fragment, burst, flash, brilliance, Old French esclat, noun derivative of esclater to burst, break violently, probably < Old Low Franconian *slaitan to split, break (compare Old High German sleizan to tear), a causative of Germanic *slitan; slit

Word History and Origins

Origin of éclat¹

C17: from French, from éclater to burst; related to Old French esclater to splinter, perhaps of Germanic origin; compare slit

Example Sentences

Few American artists of the 20th century arrived with quite his éclat.

From New York Times

A concurrent selling exhibition at Sotheby’s, “The World of Tamara: A Celebration of Lempicka and Art Deco,” features several of Lempicka’s paintings, including “L’Éclat,” a portrait of a woman, her hair coiled like strips of film, and “Nu aux Buildings,” a sensuous nude backed by skyscrapers.

From New York Times

He was soigné, to use one of his favorite words, and he had éclat, to use another.

From New York Times

“Both,” replied Elizabeth archly; “for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds. We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb.”

From Literature

Christopher Curtin, the master chocolatier who owns Éclat Chocolate in West Chester, Pa., makes his chocolate June bugs seasonally.

From New York Times