coquette English · revision 1584

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɒˈkɛt/ ''(UK)''; /koʊˈkɛt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|coquette]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the feminine of ''coquet'' “male flirt”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) a diminutive of ''coq'' “cock”,^(Barnhart 1995) so called from a likeness to the strutting of a cock.^(Barnhart 1995) It is related to [[coquet]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A woman who tries to win men's admiration for her own vanity (1611).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart dates the noun to 1669 and Etymonline to the 1660s,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) noting that ''coquet'' itself was used of women from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) The OED also records a ''male coquette'' (1770)^(OED 1989) and the name of a genus of crested hummingbirds (1843).^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – a flirtatious woman.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1656 – ''coquetry'', earlier “pertness”.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1660s – date given by Etymonline and Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1743 – as an adjective, coquettish.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1843 – a genus of hummingbirds.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A woman who [[flirt|alt=flirts]] to win admiration without sincere affection.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A small crested [[hummingbird]] of the genus ''Lophornis''.^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coquettish]]

+ * [[coquettishly]]

+ * [[coquettishness]]

+ * [[coquetry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coquet]]

+ * [[cock]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House gives ''tease'' and ''vamp'' as synonyms.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}