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coquette

A coquette is a flirt, a girl or woman who knows how to flatter and manipulate men with her charms in order to get what she wants.

Coquette sounds French, and it is, borrowed into English from French in the mid-17th century. It's the feminine diminutive form of coq, which means "cock, a male bird" — so coquette refers to a little female bird, and, in fact, it's also the name of a kind of colorful hummingbird found in Latin America. If you imagine a coquette as a flamboyant little bird flitting about and teasing the male birds, you'll have a good picture of a coquette.

DEFINITIONS OF: coquette

1

v talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions

Synonyms:
butterfly, chat up, coquet, dally, flirt, mash, philander, romance
Types:
wanton
engage in amorous play
vamp
act seductively with (someone)
Type of:
speak, talk
exchange thoughts; talk with

n a seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men

Synonyms:
flirt, minx, prickteaser, tease, vamp, vamper
Type of:
adult female, woman
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
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