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SOUBRETTE

 - 4 dictionary results

sou⋅brette

  [soo-bret]
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–noun
1. a maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, esp. one displaying coquetry, pertness, and a tendency to engage in intrigue.
2. an actress playing such a role.
3. any lively or pert young woman.
Origin:
1745–55; < F: lady's maid < Pr soubreto, deriv. of soubret affected, ult. deriv. of OPr sobrar < L superāre to be above

Related forms:
sou⋅bret⋅tish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sou·brette   (sōō-brět')   
n.  

    1. A saucy, coquettish, intriguing maidservant in comedies or comic opera.

    2. An actress or a singer taking such a part.

  2. A young woman regarded as flirtatious or frivolous.


[French, from Provençal soubreto, feminine of soubret, conceited, from soubra, to leave aside, from Old Provençal sobrar, to be excessive, from Latin superāre, from super, above; see uper in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

soubrette 
1753, theatrical jargon for lady's maid characters in plays and operas, who were usually pert, flirtatious, and intriguing, from Fr., from Prov. soubreto "affected, conceited," fem. of soubret "coy, reserved," from soubra "to set aside," originally "to exceed," from O.Prov. sobrar, from L. superare "to rise above, overcome," from super "over, above, beyond" (see super-).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

soubrette

in theatre, comic female character usually in the role of a chambermaid. The soubrette role originated in French comedy, one of the earliest examples being Suzanne in Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais' Le Mariage de Figaro (1784). Still earlier, Moliere's plays Tartuffe (1664) and Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1670) contained versions of the character in the roles of Dorine and Nicole

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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