soubrette
Americannoun
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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.
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an actress playing such a role.
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any lively or pert young woman.
noun
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a minor female role in comedy, often that of a pert lady's maid
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any pert or flirtatious girl
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of soubrette
1745–55; < French: lady's maid < Provençal soubreto, derivative of soubret affected, ultimately derivative of Old Provençal sobrar < Latin superāre to be above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Playwright-Director Deval was in Manhattan last week with the script of a new play, Soubrette, seeking a producer and planning on Actress-Wife Argall for the lead.
From Time Magazine Archive
From the East Village Soubrette Black-Eyed Susan, she picked up the retro-chic '30s look.
From Time Magazine Archive
"It is only the picture of a dog," said Soubrette.
From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 02 Little Journeys To the Homes of Famous Women by Hubbard, Elbert
It is only a surmise, yet history as we know is continually repeating itself—even in Soubrette parts, and in more senses than one.
From A History of Pantomime by Broadbent, R. J.
Probably in this in the latter instance we have the origin of the Columbine and Soubrette part in after years of the European stage as the term "accomplished companion," would equally apply to both.
From A History of Pantomime by Broadbent, R. J.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
