nubile

[noo-bil, -bahyl, nyoo-]

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.

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

Historical Examples of nubility

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)

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.