nubile

[ noo-bil, -bahyl, nyoo- ]

/ ˈnu bɪl, -baɪl, ˈnyu- /

adjective

(of a young woman) suitable for marriage, especially in regard to age or physical development; marriageable.

(of a young person, usually a woman) sexually developed and attractive: the nubile girls in their bikinis.

Nearby words

nubecula, nubia, nubian, nubian desert, nubian goat, nubility, nubility, nubilous, nubuck, nucellus, nucflash

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for nubility

That all this virility and nubility and glamor is pure coincidence?
Masters of Space|Edward Elmer Smith
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
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

British Dictionary definitions for nubility

nubile

/ (ˈnjuːbaɪl) /

adjective (of a girl or woman)

ready or suitable for marriage by virtue of age or maturity

sexually attractive

Derived Formsnubility (njuːˈbɪlɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for nubile

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.