coquet
/kɒˈkɛt
/verb [no object] rare
Behave flirtatiously; flirt: from the day I first met you I felt that you were coquetting with me figurative for a while he coquetted with engineering...
- She loves Worthy, whom she pretends to dislike, and coquets with him for twelve months.
- Sharon's rich, sensuous voice coquets above the piano, the drums, the bass.
- He seems fond of coqueting with the House of Commons, and is perpetually calling the Speaker out to dance a minuet with him, before he begins.
noun dated
A man who flirts.There is nothing more likely to cure a coquet than a good, strong, durable passion....
- Though I saw plainly, by this address, that I had got in with a coquet, my presiding star was not a whit out of my good graces for involving me in this adventure.
- The greatest miracle of love is the reformation of a coquet.
Origin
Early 17th century (as adjective in sense 'amorous'): from French coqueter (see coquetry).