Wiktionary

nubile

See also: Nubile

English

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Etymology

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From French nubile, from Latin nūbilis (“marriageable”), from nūbō (“marry, to take as husband”), from Proto-Indo-European *snewbʰ- (“to marry, to wed”). Possibly cognate with Ancient Greek νύμφη (númphē, “bride, young wife, nymph”) (English nymph), but this is disputed.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nubile (comparative more nubile, superlative most nubile)

  1. Of an age suitable for marriage; marriageable (principally of a young woman). [from 17th c.]
    Synonyms: eligible, marriageable, wifeable
    • 1921, Aldous Huxley, chapter 28, in Crome Yellow‎[1], London: Chatto & Windus, page 292:
      "Pretty little thing, isn't she?" said Mrs. Budge huskily, and panted two or three times. "Yes," Denis nodded agreement. Sixteen, slender, but nubile, he said to himself, and laid up the phrase in his memory as a happy one.
  2. Sexually attractive (especially of a young woman).
    Synonyms: foxy; see also Thesaurus:sexy

Usage notes

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For a man, especially a young man, eligible is sometimes used as the corresponding term in the sense ‘marriageable’, particularly in the phrase eligible bachelor.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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nubile (plural nubiles)

  1. A young sexually attractive woman.

Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin nūbilis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nubile (plural nubiles)

  1. nubile
    Near-synonym: pubère

Further reading

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Italian

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Etymology

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From Latin nūbilis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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nubile (plural nubili)

  1. unmarried

Noun

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nubile f (plural nubili)

  1. unmarried woman
  2. spinster
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See also

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Latin

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Adjective

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nūbile

  1. vocative masculine singular of nūbilus
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