soubrette

[soo-bret]

noun

1. a maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, especially one displaying coquetry, pertness, and a tendency to engage in intrigue.

2. an actress playing such a role.

3. any lively or pert young woman.

soubrette

/ suːˈbrɛt /

noun

1. a minor female role in comedy, often that of a pert lady's maid

2. any pert or flirtatious girl

Other Word Forms

• soubrettish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of soubrette¹

1745–55; < French: lady's maid < Provençal soubreto, derivative of soubret affected, ultimately derivative of Old Provençal sobrar < Latin superāre to be above

Word History and Origins

Origin of soubrette¹

C18: from French: maidservant, from Provençal soubreto, from soubret conceited, from soubra to exceed, from Latin superāre to surmount, from super above

Example Sentences

At the Milwaukee Rep, I did a play called “Cat Among the Pigeons,” which is a Feydeau farce, and I played the ingénue in that, or the soubrette.

Read more on The New Yorker

The other lady of the ensemble, a svelte twilight soubrette, objects to my having, so to speak, photographed her in her old housecoat.

Read more on Literature

Poetry, the soubrette declares, is “an inflammation of the mental bursa/Where verse becomes your vice — and vice-a-versa.”

Read more on New York Times

“You have your soubrettes, your tall dancers and so forth — you wouldn’t put her in ‘Diamonds,’ you would put her in ‘Rubies.’

Read more on New York Times

French maids and majorettes, soubrettes and harlequins: With such a cast of characters, the ballets danced by the Suzanne Farrell Ballet shared a retro look and an abundance of whimsy.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• artist 
• character 
• clown 
• comedian 
• entertainer 
• performer www.thesaurus.com
• player 
• star 
• villain