pucelle
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Anglo-Norman puscele, Middle French pucele, perhaps from a Late Latin *pullicella, but the further etymology is disputed.
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /pʊˈsɛl/
Noun [edit]
pucelle (plural pucelles)
- (archaic) A girl, a maiden; a virgin (often with reference to Joan of Arc).
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:
- ‘Be ye a pusell or a wyff?’ ‘Sir,’ she seyde, ‘I am a clene maydyn.’
- 1976, Robert Nye, Falstaff:
- Seven weeks before, Joan of Arc had ridden into Orleans. She was at the height of her strange career.…‘Maid or Witch, Pucelle or Puzzell – she is very hard to understand.’
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:
- (obsolete) A prostitute, a slut.
Translations [edit]
French [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Old French pucele, from Late Latin pulicella ‘young girl’, a popular diminutive of puella ‘girl’.
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /pysɛl/
Noun [edit]
pucelle f (plural pucelles)
Related terms [edit]
- la Pucelle d'Orléans: the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc
Categories:
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English nouns
- English archaic terms
- English terms with obsolete senses
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Late Latin
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French countable nouns
