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nymphet. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
nymphet, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
nymphet in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
nymphet you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From nymph + -et (“diminutive”), first attested 1612. The second sense was popularized by Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita.
Noun
nymphet (plural nymphets)
- (obsolete) A small nymph.
- A sexually attractive girl or young woman.
1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 1, page 19:[…] the fey grace, the elusive, shifty, soul-shattering, insidious charm that separates the nymphet from such coevals of hers […]
Usage notes
More common than the alternative spelling nymphette, which uses the more standard feminine suffix -ette.
Synonyms
Translations
A sexually attractive girl or young woman
References
- The changing English language, Brian Foster, 1968, pp. 185–186 – on spelling nymphet versus nymphette