demoiselle

Borrowed from French demoiselle. The bird is so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form and movements. Doublet of damsel, doncella, and donzella.

demoiselle (plural demoiselles)

1. A damselfly of the family Calopterygidae.
2. A young lady; a damsel; a lady's maid.
3. The Numidian crane (Grus virgo).

   Synonym: demoiselle crane

• (damselfly): broad-winged damselfly

• damoiselle

Inherited from Old French damoisele, from Vulgar Latin *domnicella, diminutive of Latin domina. Compare Spanish doncella and damisela, Italian donzella and damigella, Portuguese donzela. Doublet of donzelle. See Romanian domnișoară.

• IPA^(key): /də.mwa.zɛl/

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demoiselle f (plural demoiselles)

1. damsel, maiden
2. miss
3. damselfly

• d^lle

• demoiselle d’honneur
• demoiselle en détresse
• mademoiselle

• damoiseau

• → English: demoiselle

• “demoiselle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.