bon vivant

[ bon vee-vahnt; French bawn vee-vahn ]

noun

, plural bons vi·vants [bon, vee-, vahnts, baw, n, vee-, vahn].

1. a person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink.

bon vivant

/ bɔ̃ vivɑ̃ /

noun

1. a person who enjoys luxuries, esp good food and drink Also called (but not in French)bon viveurˌbɒn viːˈvɜː

Word History and Origins

Origin of bon vivant¹

From French

Word History and Origins

Origin of bon vivant¹

literally: good living (man)

Example Sentences

Solomon, not well-known today, was a Harvard-educated bon vivant known for his erudition in new art’s European history.

From Los Angeles Times

He was a high-born bon vivant, just like James Bond, and he was the secret intelligence spymaster in France prior to the war.”

From Los Angeles Times

He combined the fire of his old boss Molina and the bon vivant verve of Alatorre’s crew to work the picket lines as easily as he did banquets.

From Los Angeles Times

Its founder, a bon vivant who once dated the widowed first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, held all the strings, and pulled them in ways that Mr. Kohn often disliked.

From Washington Post

He is a diplomat, a fixer, a bon vivant and, thanks to Magimel’s louche charisma, a lost soul whose wandering and dithering carry a hint of pathos.

From New York Times

Related Words

• connoisseur