gamine

American  

[gam-een, -in, ga-meen] / ˈgæm in, -ɪn, gæˈmin /

noun

1. a neglected girl who is left to run about the streets.

2. a diminutive or very slender girl, especially one who is pert, impudent, or playfully mischievous.

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adjective

1. of or like a gamine.

   a gamine personality; clothes for the gamine figure.

gamine British  

/ ˈɡæmiːn, ɡamin /

noun

1. 1. a slim and boyish girl or young woman; an elfish tomboy

   2. ( as modifier )

      a gamine style of haircut

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Etymology

Origin of gamine

1895–1900; < French; feminine of gamin

Example Sentences

British actor Carey Mulligan’s soft eyes and fair complexion are typical of a kind of demure gamine who gets typecast as an underestimated heroine.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2024

Here, the riding jacket was a key theme, constructed in gleaming silken tweeds above gamine miniskirts and youthful skorts.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 24, 2023

Famed for her gamine hair bob, scant black corset, diminutive torso but long legs, and her pink ostrich feather outfits, she became one of France’s best-loved artistes.

From Washington Post • Jul. 17, 2020

Amélie is the innocently mischievous gamine who has whimsical fantasy adventures in Paris.

From The Guardian • Mar. 12, 2020

Her hair was in a gamine cut, streaked blond in a salon and currently showing dark roots.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart