nubile

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   dated, chiefly of a young woman: considered old enough or eligible to marry

   The historian noted that the legal category of a nubile daughter reflected the period's marriage customs.

2. 2
   adj

   dated and often objectifying: sexually mature or attractive

   Modern editors may flag nubile when it reduces a young woman to sexual availability.

3. 3
   noun

   rare and often objectifying: a young woman regarded as marriageable or sexually attractive

   The satire exposes the older man's habit of describing every young woman as a nubile.

Simplified etymology

Nubile comes from Latin nubilis, from nubere “put on a veil; get married.” It originally described a girl or woman old enough to marry, without implying attractiveness; today it can mean young and sexually attractive, while the original sense survives in technical contexts. Nubere ultimately derives from nubes “cloud,” linked through the idea of an obscuring veil.

Borrowed through French nubile from Latin nubilis, 'marriageable,' from nubere, 'to marry or take a husband.' Later sexualized uses shifted the emphasis from legal or social marriageability to perceived attractiveness and are often objectifying in present-day contexts.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary