Synonyms

damsel

American

[dam-zuhl] / ˈdæm zəl /

noun

Literary.

a young woman or girl; a maiden, originally one of gentle or noble birth.

damsel British

/ ˈdæmzəl /

noun

archaic a young unmarried woman; maiden

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of damsel

1150–1200; Middle English damisel < Anglo-French ( Old French damoisele ) < Vulgar Latin *dominicella, equivalent to Latin domin ( a ) lady ( dame ) + -i- -i- + -cella feminine diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Above us swallows dart through the air, Graeme takes a picture of a damsel fly and the brook to our side continues to babble.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2024

A damsel, even if only in his imagination.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2024

Working from Andrew Lobel’s script, the director Michael Mohan delivers his damsel — a fresh-faced American, Cecilia, played by Sydney Sweeney — to the convent with unceremonious briskness.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

But also, it has a lot of humor surrounding it, because it's that damsel in distress kind of character.

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2023

“I believe I see a damsel in some distress,” and off he marched to her rescue.

From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023