coquet

American  

[koh-ket] / koʊˈkɛt /

verb (used without object)

coquetted, coquetting

1. to try to attract the attention and admiration of men for mere self-gratification; flirt.

   Synonyms:

   tease, dally

2. to act without seriousness; trifle; dally.

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adjective

1. coquettish.

noun

1. Obsolete. a male flirt.

coquet British  

/ kəʊˈkɛt, kɒ- /

verb

1. to behave flirtatiously

2. to dally or trifle

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Etymology

Origin of coquet

1685–95; < French; literally, cockerel, equivalent to coq cock + -et -et

Example Sentences

A: I'm afraid I was a bit of a coquet in my youth, but now that I'm a grandmother with an 18-year-old granddaughter, I'm simplifying what I wear.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2010

In the last century there lived a man who, in his young days, was a desperate coquet.

From Indian Story and Song from North America by Fletcher, Alice C. (Alice Cunningham)

If she really loved him, would she coquet with him like this—would she so pretend?

From The Hoyden by Duchess

Suckcess iz a coquet, and a bashful lover never wins her.

From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Shaw, Henry W.

The wife at last made her appearance, at once a slattern and a coquet; much emaciated, but still carrying the remains of beauty.

From A Century of English Essays An Anthology Ranging from Caxton to R. L. Stevenson & the Writers of Our Own Time by Rhys, Ernest