Literary or poetic term for a beautiful woman, often used in classical or refined contexts. Not an everyday word; 美人 is the common equivalent.
彼女はまるで絵に描いたような佳人だ。
She is a beauty as if painted in a picture.
古い詩には「佳人」という言葉がよく出てくる。
The word '佳人' often appears in old poems.
佳人 is an old-fashioned, poetic word for a lovely woman, while 小町 more concretely suggests a woman famed for beauty in a particular town or region.
talented man and beautiful woman; well-matched pair; wit and beauty
From Chinese 佳人 (jiārén), meaning 'beautiful woman'. The kanji 佳 means 'excellent' or 'beautiful', and 人 means 'person'.