Nubile

Nubile

Nubile refers to a young woman who is ready or suitable for marriage by virtue of her age or maturity.[1] In recent times it has also been used to refer to a sexually attractive young woman.[2]

Contents

Etymology

The English word traces its roots to 1642 in reference to being "marriageable" (as said of a woman) from the French nubile. Its historical roots, though, can be traced still further back to the Latin nubilis, also meaning "marriageable," which is from the stem of nubere which means "take as husband."]]."[3]

In 1973 it was first used in the sense of "sexually attractive."[4] The word can refer to a nymphet (see below) in the context of a young sexually attractive woman.

Related terms

Nymphet

A nymphet is a sexually attractive girl, or young woman. The first recorded use of the term, defined by The Century Dictionary as "a little nymph",[5] was by Michael Drayton in Poly-Olbion I. xi. Argt. 171 (1612): "Of the nymphets sporting there In Wyrrall, and in Delamere."

In Lolita, "nymphet" was used to describe the 9- to 14-year-old girls to whom the protagonist is attracted,[6] the archetypal nymphet being the character of Dolores Haze. Nabokov, in the voice of his narrator Humbert, first describes these nymphets in the following passage:

Now I wish to introduce the following idea. Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who, to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as 'nymphets.' It will be marked that I substitute time terms for spatial ones. In fact, I would have the reader see 'nine' and 'fourteen' as the boundaries—the mirrory beaches and rosy rocks—of an enchanted island haunted by those nymphets of mine and surrounded by a vast, misty sea.[6]

For Humbert, a nymphet is in the earliest stages of puberty: "The bud-stage of breast development appears early (10.7 years)."[6] When he meets a streetwalker who claims to be 18, he considers her no longer a nymphet, although her body is still in some ways childlike.[6]

Faunlet

The term faunlet, also coined by Nabokov and used by Humbert, is used to describe the young male counterpart of a nymphet, in the same way that the mythological fauns were the counterpart of the nymphs. The term appears in the novel twice:

When I was a child and she was a child, my little Annabel was no nymphet to me; I was her equal, a faunlet in my own right, on that same enchanted island of time.[6]
...I met the unblinking dark eyes of two strange and beautiful children, faunlet and nymphet, whom their identical flat dark hair and bloodless cheeks proclaimed siblings if not twins.[6]

Lolita

Lolita was the nickname of one of the principal characters in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. Lolita's actual name was Dolores, with whom the narrator, Humbert Humbert, develops a sexual obsession.[7] In the book itself, "Lolita" is specifically Humbert's nickname for Dolores. Nevertheless, "Lolita" and "loli" has come to be used as a general reference to a seductive or sexually attractive young woman.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ the free dictionary
  2. ^ merriam-webster dictionary
  3. ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=nubile&searchmode=none
  4. ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=nubile&searchmode=none
  5. ^ Search The Century Dictionary at http://www.global-language.com/CENTURY/
  6. ^ a b c d e f Nabokov, Vladimir (1991). Alfred Appel. ed. The Annotated Lolita. Random House. ISBN 0679727299. 
  7. ^ Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York: Vintage International, 1955. ISBN 0-679-72316-1.
  8. ^ lolita in Merriam-Webster Dictionary

External links


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  • nubile — [ nybil ] adj. • 1509; lat. nubilis, de nubere « se marier » 1 ♦ Qui est en âge d être marié. ⇒ mariable. D après la loi française, les filles sont nubiles à quinze ans, et les garçons à dix huit. 2 ♦ Qui est formé, apte à la reproduction (se dit …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • nubile — / nubile/ [dal lat. nubĭlis (in età) da marito ]. ■ agg. [di donna, che non ha contratto matrimonio: essere, restare n. ] ▶◀ single. ‖ celibe. ◀▶ coniugata, maritata, sposata. ■ s.f. [donna nubile] ▶◀ signorina, (spreg.) zitella, [spesso per una… …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • nubile — adj. de tout genre, Qui a atteint l âge de se marier. Il ne se dit guere que des filles. Cette fille est nubile. On appelle, Age nubile, L âge auquel les filles commencent d estre en estat de se marier …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Nubile — Nu bile, a. [L. nubilis, fr. nubere to marry: cf. F. nubile. See {Nuptial}.] Of an age suitable for marriage; marriageable. Prior. [1913 Webster] 2. Sexually attractive, sometimes used as a genteel euphemism for having well developed breasts; of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nubile — (adj.) 1640s, marriageable (said of a woman), from Fr. nubile (16c.) or directly from L. nubilis marriageable, from stem of nubere take as husband (see NUPTIAL (Cf. nuptial)). In sense of young and sexually attractive from 1973. Related: Nubility …   Etymology dictionary

  • nubile — [no͞o′bəl, no͞o′bīl΄; nyo͞o′bəl, nyo͞o′bīl΄] adj. [Fr nubile < L nubilis < nubere, to veil oneself, marry < IE base * sneubh , to woo, marry > Gr nymphē, bride, nymph, Czech snoubiti, to woo] 1. marriageable: said of a young woman who …   English World dictionary

  • nubile — The original Latin meaning of nubilis, ‘(of females) of an age suitable for marriage’, has given way in current usage to the meaning ‘sexually attractive’, making the earlier sense somewhat awkward to use, except with intentional ambiguity …   Modern English usage

  • nubile — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of a girl or woman) youthful but sexually mature and attractive. DERIVATIVES nubility noun. ORIGIN from Latin nubilis marriageable …   English terms dictionary

  • nubile — (nu bi l ) adj. Qui est devenu apte au mariage, en parlant des filles. •   La grande peine où je me voi, C est d avoir cinq filles chez moi Dont la moins âgée est nubile ; Je dois les établir, je voudrais le pouvoir ; Mais à suivre Apollon on ne… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • nubile — nù·bi·le agg. CO 1a. di donna, non sposata: ragazza nubile; anche s.f. 1b. relativo a donna non sposata: stato, condizione nubile 2. BU in età da marito 3. OB di periodo della vita, adatto a contrarre matrimonio: tempo, età nubile 4. LE di fiore …   Dizionario italiano

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