different between nubile vs nubble

English

Etymology

From French nubile, from Latin n?bilis (“marriageable”), from n?b? (“marry, to take as husband”), from Proto-Indo-European *snewb?- (“to marry, to wed”). Possibly cognate with Ancient Greek ????? (númph?, “bride, young wife, nymph”) (English nymph), but this is disputed.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?nuba?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?nju?ba?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l

Adjective

nubile (comparative more nubile, superlative most nubile)

1. Of an age suitable for marriage; marriageable (principally of a young woman). [from 17th c.]

   Synonyms: eligible, marriageable, wifeable
2. Sexually attractive (especially of a young woman).

   Synonyms: foxy; see also Thesaurus:sexy

Usage notes

For a man, especially a young man, eligible is sometimes used as the corresponding term in the sense ‘marriageable’, particularly in the phrase eligible bachelor.

Derived terms

• nubility

Related terms

• connubial
• nuptial, nuptials

Translations

Noun

nubile (plural nubiles)

1. A young sexually attractive woman.

Anagrams

• beluin, unible

French

Etymology

From Latin n?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ny.bil/

Adjective

nubile (plural nubiles)

1. nubile

Further reading

• “nubile” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Etymology

From Latin n?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?nu.bi.le/

Adjective

nubile (plural nubili)

1. unmarried

Noun

nubile f (plural nubili)

1. unmarried woman
2. spinster

Related terms

• nubilato

See also

• celibe

Latin

Adjective

n?bile

1. vocative masculine singular of n?bilus

English

Etymology

Compare Low German nubben (“to knock, cuff”).

Noun

nubble (plural nubbles)

1. A small knob or lump.
   • 1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous, chapter 1

     Harvey saw with disgust that there were no sheets on his bed-place. He was lying on a piece of dingy ticking full of lumps and nubbles.

Verb

nubble (third-person singular simple present nubbles, present participle nubbling, simple past and past participle nubbled)

1. (obsolete) To beat or bruise with the fist.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ainsworth to this entry?)

Anagrams

• Lubben