Adjacent Words

Damsel definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DAM'SEL, n. A young woman. Formerly, a young man or woman of noble or genteel extraction; as Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, prince of Wales. It is now used only of young women, and is applied to any class of young unmarried women, unless to the most vulgar, and sometimes to country girls.
With her train of damsels she was gone. Dryden.
Then Boaz said, whose damsel is this? Ruth 2.
This word is rarely used in conversation, or even in prose writings of the present day; but it occurs frequently in the scriptures, and in poetry.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a young unmarried woman [syn: damsel, demoiselle, damoiselle, damosel, damozel]

Merriam Webster's

also damosel or damozel noun Etymology: Middle English damesel, from Anglo-French dameisele, from Vulgar Latin *domnicella young noblewoman, diminutive of Latin domina lady Date: 13th century a young woman: a. archaic a young unmarried woman of noble birth b. girl

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. archaic or literary a young unmarried woman. Etymology: ME f. OF dam(e)isele ult. f. L domina mistress

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Damsel Dam"sel, n. [OE. damosel, damesel, damisel, damsel, fr. OF. damoisele, damisele, gentlewoman, F. demoiselle young lady; cf. OF. damoisel young nobleman, F. damoiseau; fr. LL. domicella, dominicella, fem., domicellus, dominicellus, masc., dim. fr. L. domina, dominus. See Dame, and cf. Demoiselle, Doncella.] 1. A young person, either male or female, of noble or gentle extraction; as, Damsel Pepin; Damsel Richard, Prince of Wales. [Obs.] 2. A young unmarried woman; a girl; a maiden. With her train of damsels she was gone, In shady walks the scorching heat to shun. --Dryden. Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, . . . Goes by to towered Camelot. --Tennyson. 3. (Milling) An attachment to a millstone spindle for shaking the hopper.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(damsels) A damsel is a young, unmarried woman. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED) He keeps coming to the aid of this damsel in distress. = maiden N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dam'-zel: A young, unmarried woman; a girl (lass); maiden (compare French demoiselle). The Revised Version (British and American) in Mt 26:69; Joh 18:17; Ac 12:13; 16:16 gives "maid" for paidiske, "a girl," i.e. (spec.) a maidservant or young female slave (the King James Version "damsel"), and "child" for paidion, "a half-grown boy or girl," in Mr 5:39,40 bis. 41.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Maiden, maid, girl, lass, lassie, miss, young lady.

Moby Thesaurus

babe, baby, broad, chick, colleen, cutie, dame, damoiselle, demoiselle, doll, filly, frail, gal, girl, girlie, heifer, hoyden, jeune fille, jill, junior miss, lass, lassie, little missy, mademoiselle, maid, maiden, miss, missy, nymphet, piece, quail, romp, schoolgirl, schoolmaid, schoolmiss, skirt, slip, subdeb, subdebutante, subteen, subteener, teenybopper, tomato, tomboy, virgin, wench, young creature, young thing