Bel or belle?
bel is a noun meaning “A measure of relative power, defined as log₁₀(P ₁/P ₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the…”; belle is a noun meaning “An attractive woman”. They sound the same (/bɛl/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) belle is about 2.3 times as common as bel.
What is the difference between bel and belle?
| bel | belle | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, prefix | noun |
| Meaning | A measure of relative power, defined as log₁₀(P ₁/P ₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the measured and reference power respectively | An attractive woman |
| Example | belchild (“grandchild”) | In her new dress she felt like the belle of the ball |
| Forms | bels | belles |
| Pronunciation | /bɛl/ | /bɛl/ |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words | 6.2 times per million words |
Sources: bel and belle in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of bel and belle
bel
- 1
A measure of relative power, defined as log₁₀(P ₁/P ₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the measured and reference power respectively
- 2
Alternative form of bael
- 3
Alternative form of Belgo-
belle
- 1
An attractive woman
In her new dress she felt like the belle of the ball
- 2
datedA fellow gay man
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, bel or belle?
bel appears 2.6 times per million words; belle 6.2 times per million words.
bel 2.6 times per million wordsbelle 6.2 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).