ETYMOLOGY
from French bel (belle) ami (fair friend)
EXAMPLE
“…Thenne aunsweryd the kyng off Fraunce To Kyng Richard withouten destaunce, ” I suffre, sere, bele amys, Thou hast wrong, sere, be Seynt Denis, That thou thretest that markys, That thè never yit dede amysse…”
From: Richard Coer de Lion
A Middle English Romance, c1325
Lexicophilia 