demoiselle

English

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

Etymology

Borrowed from French demoiselle. The bird is so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form and movements. Doublet of damsel, doncella, and donzella.

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).

   Synonym: demoiselle crane

Synonyms

• (damselfly): broad-winged damselfly

Translations

Calopterygidae

• Finnish: neidonkorento (fi)
• German: Prachtlibelle f
• Navajo: tániilʼáítsʼóóz bitʼaʼ ntsaaígíí
• Polish: świtezianka (pl) f

French

Alternative forms

• damoiselle

Etymology

Inherited from Old French damoisele, from Vulgar Latin *domnicella, diminutive of Latin domina. Compare Spanish doncella and damisela, Italian donzella and damigella, Portuguese donzela. Doublet of donzelle. See Romanian domnișoară.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /də.mwa.zɛl/

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Noun

demoiselle f (plural demoiselles)

1. damsel, maiden
2. miss
3. damselfly

Synonyms

• d^lle

Derived terms

• demoiselle d’honneur
• demoiselle en détresse
• mademoiselle

Related terms

• damoiseau

Descendants

• → English: demoiselle

Further reading

• “demoiselle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.