gamine

gamine

English

Etymology

    Borrowed from French gamine.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    gamine (plural gamines)

    1. A (usually female) street urchin; a homeless girl.
    2. A mischievous, playful, elfish, pert girl or young woman.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Adjective

    gamine (comparative more gamine, superlative most gamine)

    1. (of a girl) Having a boyish, mischievous charm; elfish, typically with short hair. [from 20th c.]
      • 1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 54:
        In her navy linen trousers and her, perhaps too tight, white jersey, Jennifer was determinedly gamine.
      • 2017 May 25, Peter Bradshaw, “L'Amant Double review – camp-classic status beckons for François Ozon's softcore silliness”, in The Guardian[1]:
        It’s a wildly dated-looking and derivative film, a quaint adventure in fantasised naughtiness, like Ozon’s teen prostitute fantasy Jeune et Jolie in 2013, which starred his lead actress here, Marine Vacth, in a similarly gamine role.

    Translations

    See also

    Anagrams

    French

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ɡa.min/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Audio (France (Toulouse)):(file)

    Noun

    gamine f (plural gamines, masculine gamin)

    1. kid (child)

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Middle English

    Verb

    gamine

    1. (Lincolnshire) alternative form of gamenen