Boulevardiers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of people who frequent urban boulevards and enjoy socializing in lively public spaces
2. Individuals who embody a stylish and sophisticated lifestyle while engaging in the vibrant culture of city streets
3. Socialites or trendsetters known for their love of nightlife and leisurely strolls in fashionable urban areas

Etymology: The plural of "boulevardier," a word that entered English from French, where it was formed from "boulevard" plus the suffix "-ier," the French agent ending that turns a noun into a person associated with it. A boulevardier is, literally, a man of the boulevards, and the word carries that city-street sense of someone who strolls, dines and talks in the open air of the grand avenues. The "boulevard" half is the older and more widely known element. It came into French from Dutch "bolwerc," a term for a bulwark or rampart, and passed through the sense of a fortification's broad top into the sense of a tree-lined promenade once the walls around Paris had been torn down. The suffix "-ier" gives the compound its personal flavour, so the word names people by their habitat rather than their trade.