minaudière

or min·au·diere

[ mee-noh-dyair; French mee-noh-dyer ]

noun

, plural min·au·dieres [mee-noh-, dyairz, mee-noh-, dyer].

1. a small, sometimes jeweled case for a woman's cosmetics or other personal objects, often carried as a handbag.

Word History and Origins

Origin of minaudière¹

First recorded in 1935–40 (earlier in sense “coquette”); from French minaudière originally, “coquette, person with affected manners,” noun use of feminine of minaudier “affected,” equivalent to minaud(er) “to have an affected manner” (verbal derivative, with -aud adjective suffix, of mine “facial expression,” probably from Breton min “muzzle”) + -ier; ribald, -ier ²

Example Sentences

A small clutch evening bag or minaudiere is being sold with two 10-cent coins, eight Philip Morris cigarettes and a used Revlon lipstick in the shade "Bachelor's Carnation," a vibrant red hue.

From Reuters

There are also accessories, consisting of white leather sneakers, a black folio for men and an envelope clutch and minaudière for women.

From Wall Street Journal

The price tag for the gold, rose-shaped minaudière: $4,995.

From Wall Street Journal

Lhuillier also showed more of her own shoes, and for the first time, minaudiere bags.

From Los Angeles Times

The displays take the curator Evelyne Possémé’s story from the small decorative boxes of 1920s to the invention of the famous minaudière, or box evening bag, in 1933.

From New York Times