| 释义 |
‖ mademoiselle|madmwazɛl; often anglicized mædəməˈzɛl|
Also 7–8 madamoiselle, (7 -ella).
[Fr.; orig. two words ma my (fem.), demoiselle (see damsel).]
1. The title (prefixed to the surname or the Christian name, or used absol. as a substitute for the name) applied to an unmarried Frenchwoman. In English use very often applied to unmarried women of foreign nationality other than French, instead of using the equivalent prefix (e.g.) in Dutch or Swedish, or substituting the English ‘Miss’. Often used absol. as the designation of a French governess or the French teacher in a girls' school. Abbreviated Mlle., in English often incorrectly Mdlle. Plural, mesdemoiselles |medmwazɛl|, abbreviated Mlles.
In early Fr. use, the prefix mademoiselle was applied also to married women whose husbands were below the rank of knighthood.
a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 126 Madamoiselle! y praie you that ye ansuere not vnto this fole. 1696Phillips (ed. 5), Mademoiselle, a Title of Honour given to the Daughters and Wives of born Gentlemen; much us'd in France. a1734North Exam. iii. vi. §76 (1740) 479 The beautiful Mademoiselle Carwell, afterwards Duchess of Portsmouth. 1753Smollett Ct. Fathom ix. Wks. 1872 V. 47 She [the maid] took the first opportunity of going to mademoiselle, and demanding money for some necessary expense. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho vii, Our cottage may be envied, sir, since you and Mademoiselle have honoured it with your presence. 1840Barham Ingol. Leg. Spectre of Tappington, Mademoiselle boxed Mr. Maguire's ears, and Mr. Maguire pulled Mademoiselle upon his knee. 1850J. Kavanagh Nathalie ix. 213 Mademoiselle Dantin coughed, by way of opening the conversation. 1880Theatre Feb. 118 Mademoiselle Lido sang well and tunefully as Irene. 1888Mapleson Mem. (ed. 2) I. 306 The duty, therefore, of singing fell to Mdlle. Dotti.
2. French Hist. The title (used as a substitute for the name) of the eldest daughter of ‘Monsieur’, the eldest brother of the king. Subsequently applied to the eldest daughter of the king, or, if he had no daughter, to the first princess of the blood, so long as she remained unmarried.
1679Marriage Chas. II 3 It was..time for her to bring Madamoiselle to him. 1768Ann. Reg. 192/2 His Danish majesty handed mademoiselle to her place. 1783Ibid. 240 Deaths... At Versailles, mademoiselle of France, aged five years, only daughter of the French king.
3. occas. A person usually referred to as ‘mademoiselle’, an unmarried Frenchwoman; spec. † a (foreign) serving-maid (obs.); a French governess.
Occas. in forms representing uneducated pronunciation.
1642Milton Apol. Smect. Wks. 1851 III. 268 Prostituting the shame of that ministery..to the eyes of Courtiers and Court-Ladies, with their Groomes and Madamoisellaes. 1765Bickerstaffe Maid of Mill i. i. 2 She sits there all day..dressed like a fine madumasel. 1833M. Scott Tom Cringle xvi. (1842) 439 ‘De tout mon cœur’, said a buxom brown dame, about eighteen stone... The extensive mademoiselle, suiting the action to the word, started up [etc.]. 1861Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne iii. iii, When I heard that Mrs. Carlyle had engaged a madmoselle for these children.
transf.1712Budgell Spect. No 277 ⁋2 This Wooden Madamoiselle [a dressmaker's lay-figure].
4. U.S. A sea fish (see quot.).
1882Jordan & Gilbert Syn. Fishes N. Amer. 570 (Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 16) Sciæna punctata..Silver Perch; Yellow-tail; Mademoiselle. |