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majorette

[mey-juh-ret]
noun
  1. drum majorette.

Origin of majorette

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45; (drum) major + -ette
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for majorette

majorette

noun
  1. See drum majorette
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 majorette
n.

"baton-twirler," 1941, short for drum-majorette (1938), fem. of drum-major (1590s).

The perfect majorette is a pert, shapely, smiling extrovert, who loves big, noisy crowds and knows how to make those crowds love her. ["Life" magazine, Oct. 10, 1938]

(The article notes that the activity "has been going on for about six years now").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper