damsel
Americannoun
noun
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.
Her performance adds an additional layer of mystery in that it is never quite clear whether she is a manipulative femme fatale, a damsel in distress or a woman just trying to figure herself out.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2024
Dunst, 41, says it is refreshing her character is the lead in an action film and not a "damsel in distress".
From BBC • Apr. 2, 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
King Bagdemagus got the prize at the tournament before he left, and the damsel was almost tearfully grateful.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
