Debonair

Origin

Middle English debonere, from Anglo-French deboneire, from de bon aire of good family or nature

• 13th Century

Definitions

• 1archaic : gentle, courteous
• 2a : suave, urbane <a debonair performer>

b : lighthearted, nonchalant

Synonyms

• buoyant, carefree, easy, suave, smooth, elegant, dapper, polite, refined.

Quote

The frolic wind that breathes the spring, Zephyr with Aurora playing, As he met her once a-Maying, There on beds of violets blue, And fresh-blown roses washed in dew, Filled her with a daughter fair, So buxom, blithe, and debonair. - -John Milton c.1631 L'Allegro, l.18^24. The'daughter fair' is Euphrosyne, or Mirth, one of the Three Graces.