boulevardier

noun bou·le·vard·ier \ ˌbu̇-lə-ˌvär-ˈdyā , ˌbü- , -ˈdir \

Definition of boulevardier

: a frequenter of the Parisian boulevards; broadly : man-about-town

boulevardier was our Word of the Day on 04/03/2013. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of boulevardier from the Web

An elaborate cast of colorful characters keeps showing up out of nowhere, just as artists, writers, boulevardiers and other colorful visitors paraded through the Stein household in Paris.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Opera UCLA proves Susan B. Anthony, more than ever, remains 'The Mother of Us All'," 21 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'boulevardier.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The first boulevardiers got their name from the thoroughfares they frequented: the typically straight and geometrically precise boulevards of Paris. These particular men must have cut an impressive figure because the word boulevardier was eventually applied to any worldly and socially active man. Unlike many near-synonyms, "boulevardier" is generally a complimentary term. It differs from "flaneur" in that the latter refers to someone who is idle, and it doesn't imply the same vanity and foolishness that words like "fop," "dandy," and "coxcomb" do.