demoiselle

English

Banded demoiselle (damselfly of the family Calopterygidae), Calopteryx splendens

Etymology

Borrowed from French demoiselle.

Noun

demoiselle (plural demoiselles)

1. A damselfly of the family Calopterygidae.
2. A young lady; a damsel; a lady's maid.
3. The Numidian crane (Grus virgo); so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form and movements.

Synonyms

• (damselfly): broad-winged damselfly

Translations

Calopterygidae

• Finnish: neidonkorento (fi)

• Navajo: tániilʼáítsʼóóz bitʼaʼ ntsaaígíí

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French

Alternative forms

• damoiselle

Etymology

From Old French damoisele, from Vulgar Latin *domnicella, diminutive of Latin domina. Compare Spanish doncella and damisela.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də.mwa.zɛl/

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Noun

demoiselle f (plural demoiselles)

1. damsel, maiden
2. miss
3. damselfly

Derived terms

• mademoiselle

Related terms

• damoiseau

Further reading

• “demoiselle” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).