midinette means A female salesperson, a shopgirl, especially in Paris. It carries an Arena rating of 1374, earned across 45 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, midinette ranks #3,174 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,395 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #3,463 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,504 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
midinette is pronounced /ˌmɪdɪˈnɛt/.
Why “midinette” is a great word
MIDINETTE — [Noun] A Parisian shopgirl or seamstress, especially one in the fashion industry, later generalized to denote a frivolous, fashionable young woman. Borrowed from French midinette, a blend of midi ("midday") and dinette, diminutive of dîner ("dinner"), referring to a young worker with only a short break for a light meal; first attested in English 1905–10. Unlike a milliner, which specifies a maker of hats, or a gamine, which suggests an elfin, boyish charm, a midinette embodies a conventional, industrious femininity touched by the glamour of her trade. She is the rustle of tissue paper in a couture atelier, the quick click of heels on cobblestones during a brief liberty, and the precise, fleeting image of a girl unwrapping her noon-time brioche on a park bench—a portrait of modest urban aspiration, forever defined by her abbreviated noon.
Etymology
Borrowed from French midinette, from midi (“midday”) + dinette, diminutive of diner (“dinner”).
noun
- A female salesperson, a shopgirl, especially in Paris.
- A vacuous but fashionable young woman.e.g.“This? One finds them in every other midinette’s haunt, literally for sous.” — 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 611:
- A type of miniature climbing rose.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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