soubrette

Definition

A female attendant or servant, especially one who is cheeky or mischievous, often featuring in theatrical comedies.

Etymology

Borrowed from French soubrette, from Occitan soubreta (“coy”) (feminine of soubret), from soubra (Provençal sobrar), from Latin superare (“be above”).

Example Sentences

• "At present I have only a soubrette's part, with an apron and pockets, and a ballad; but, as I said before, luck's all in this world, and I have every requisite for being lucky."
• "Greatly mystified, the curate turned to examine another picture, the cryptic title of which was, "The superintendent and the soubrette - our reporter puts a pornographic parson's pot on." In this the superintendent, distinguished by a clerical coat and a Methodistical brand of whisker, was delineated in the act of riotously drinking from a bottle labelled "champagne," having evidently accommodated the soubrette - a lady in extremely abbreviated skirts - with his only glass."
• "And then too it was exhilarating to see the baron come sailing in with a pair of soubrettes on his arm—each time a different pair."