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nubile

[noo-bil, -bahyl, nyoo-]
adjective
  1. (of a young woman) suitable for marriage, especially in regard to age or physical development; marriageable.
  2. (of a young person, usually a woman) sexually developed and attractive: the nubile girls in their bikinis.
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Origin of nubile

1635–45; < Latin nūbilis, equivalent to nūb(ere) to marry (see nuptial) + -ilis -ile
Related formsnu·bil·i·ty [noo-bil-i-tee, nyoo-] /nuˈbɪl ɪ ti, nyu-/, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nubility

Historical Examples

  • That all this virility and nubility and glamor is pure coincidence?

    Masters of Space

    Edward Elmer Smith

  • This we have already pointed out in speaking of the age of nubility.

    The Physical Life of Woman:

    Dr. George H Napheys

  • Nubility is the age or state when a boy or a girl is "fit" for marriage.

    Woman

    William J. Robinson

  • And an even greater period passes between this epoch and the age it is proper for a man to marry,—his age of nubility.

    The Physical Life of Woman:

    Dr. George H Napheys

British Dictionary definitions for nubility

nubile

adjective (of a girl or woman)
  1. ready or suitable for marriage by virtue of age or maturity
  2. sexually attractive
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Derived Formsnubility (njuːˈbɪlɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin nūbilis, from nūbere to marry
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 nubility

nubile

adj.

1640s, "marriageable" (said of a woman), from French nubile (16c.) or directly from Latin nubilis "marriageable," from stem of nubere "take as husband" (see nuptial). In sense of "young and sexually attractive" from 1973. Related: Nubility.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper