minaudière

American  

[mee-noh-dyair, mee-noh-dyer] / ˌmi noʊˈdyɛər, mi noʊˈdyɛr /

Or minaudiere

noun

plural

minaudieres

1. a small, sometimes jeweled case for a woman's cosmetics or other personal objects, often carried as a handbag.

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Etymology

Origin of minaudière

First recorded in 1935–40 (earlier in sense “coquette”); from French minaudière originally, “coquette, person with affected manners,” noun use of feminine of minaudier “affected,” equivalent to minaud(er) “to have an affected manner” (verbal derivative, with -aud adjective suffix, of mine “facial expression,” probably from Breton min “muzzle”) + -ier; ribald, -ier ²

Example Sentences

Per Vogue, there’s Hubert de Givenchy’s 1953 “salt white” dress embroidered with sliced tomatoes, Cynthia Rowley’s 1993 tomato-printed rayon dress and Judith Leiber’s tomato rhinestone minaudière circa 1994.

From Salon

There are also accessories, consisting of white leather sneakers, a black folio for men and an envelope clutch and minaudière for women.

From The Wall Street Journal

The price tag for the gold, rose-shaped minaudière: $4,995.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lhuillier also showed more of her own shoes, and for the first time, minaudiere bags.

From Los Angeles Times

The displays take the curator Evelyne Possémé’s story from the small decorative boxes of 1920s to the invention of the famous minaudière, or box evening bag, in 1933.

From New York Times