Damsel Meaning
/ˈdæm.zəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA young woman (of noble birth).
nounA girl; a maiden (without sexual experience).
Sentence Examples
And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel to wife.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The knight rescued the distressed ____ from the dragon's lair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this ____ to wife.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dameisele, from Old French damoisele, from Vulgar Latin *domnicella, a diminutive from Classical Latin domina (“mistress, lady”), from dominus, from *demh₂-. Doublet of demoiselle, doncella, and donzella.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And here I might (if I followed the example of most travellers) launch out into a glowing description of the charms of these damsels, the elegant costumes they wore, and the gold and silver ornaments with which they were adorned. The jacket or body of purple gauze would figure well in such a description, allowing the heaving bosom to be seen beneath it, while "sparkling eyes," and "jetty tresses," and "tiny feet" might be thrown in profusely. But, alas!"
— 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 343:
"The spout that conveys the grain from the hopper to the eye or centre of the upper millstone rests against the spindle, just at the damsel, and thus receives an alternate back and forward motion, […]"
— 1843, The Magazine of Science, and Schools of Art, volume 4, page 263:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The knight rescued the distressed ____ from the dragon's lair.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this ____ to wife.