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noun
1.
a maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, especially 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; < French: lady's maid < Provençal soubreto, derivative of soubret affected, ultimately derivative of Old Provençal sobrar < Latin superāre to be above
1745–55; < French: lady's maid < Provençal soubreto, derivative of soubret affected, ultimately derivative of Old Provençal sobrar < Latin superāre to be above
Related forms
sou·bret·tish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Soubrette
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
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
EXPAND "to rise above, overcome," from super "over, above, beyond" (see super-).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
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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