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hoyden

or hoi·den

[hoid-n]
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noun
  1. a boisterous, bold, and carefree girl; a tomboy.
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adjective
  1. boisterous; rude.
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Origin of hoyden

1585–95; perhaps < Middle Dutch heyden boor, heathen
Related formshoy·den·ish, adjectivehoy·den·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hoyden

Historical Examples

  • And this hoyden had talked as though she took an interest in Austen!

    Mr. Crewe's Career, Complete

    Winston Churchill

  • I hope I will not be too noisy, nor too much of a hoyden for you—for you are not well I am sure.

    The Days of My Life

    Mrs. Oliphant

  • She ascribed her hoyden behavior to the influence of the stage.

    Carnival

    Compton Mackenzie

  • The hoyden took him up in a moment, and added of her own devilry a trumpet and banner.

    A Book of Scoundrels

    Charles Whibley

  • Mrs. Jordan superlative in Hoyden, and Jones well enough in Foppington.

British Dictionary definitions for hoyden

hoyden

hoiden

noun
  1. a wild boisterous girl; tomboy
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Derived Formshoydenish or hoidenish, adjectivehoydenishness or hoidenishness, noun

Word Origin

C16: perhaps from Middle Dutch heidijn heathen
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

Word Origin and History for hoyden

n.

1590s, of unknown origin; perhaps from Dutch heiden "rustic, uncivilized man," from Middle Dutch heiden "heathen" (see heathen). Originally in English "rude, boorish fellow;" sense of "ill-bred, boisterous female" first recorded 1670s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper