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Today's Word "bagatelle"

A thing of little or no importance on

Published in Vocabulary

bagatelle \bag-uh-TEL\ (noun) - 1 : A trifle; a thing of little or no importance. 2 : A short, light musical or literary piece. 3 : A game played with a cue and balls on an oblong table having cups or arches at one end.

"My wife and I have naturally simple tastes, and we used to play bagatelle in the evening. When the new servant saw us at it she could not help smiling, and then we were ashamed." -- James Matthew Barrie, 'An auld licht manse, and other sketches'

 

Bagatelle derives from Italian bagattella, "a trifling matter; a bagatelle," perhaps ultimately from Latin baca, "a berry."


 

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