oeillade

American

[œ-yad] / œˈyad /

noun

French.

plural

oeillades

an amorous glance; ogle.

oeillade British

/ œjad, ɜːˈjɑːd /

noun

literary an amorous or suggestive glance; ogle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of oeillade

First recorded in 1590–1600; from French; literally, “amorous glance; furtive glance”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Well, Bluebell is our heroine, and we must make the best of her,—to some people admiration never does come amiss; and if a demure oeillade can play the mischief with the too inflammable of the rougher sex, I don't know who is to be held accountable except the father of lies.

From Project Gutenberg

The young librarian helped the fatigued-looking wine into the two glasses, where it lay as if thoroughly exhausted by the effort of getting there, and then languidly left the parlour, turning his bulging head over his shoulder to indulge in a pathetic oeillade ere he vanished.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023