different between nymphet vs nymphe

English

Alternative forms

• nymphette

Etymology

From nymph +? -et (“diminutive”), first attested 1612. The second sense was popularized by Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel Lolita.

Noun

nymphet (plural nymphets)

1. (obsolete) A small nymph. [17th-19th c.]
   • 1612 Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion I. xi. Argt. 171:

     Of the nymphets sporting there In Wyrrall, and in Delamere.

2. A sexually attractive girl or young woman. [from 20th c.]

Usage notes

More common than the alternative spelling nymphette, which uses the more standard feminine suffix -ette.

Synonyms

• jailbait, lolita, nymph

Translations

References

• The changing English language, Brian Foster, 1968, pp. 185–186 – on spelling nymphet versus nymphette

English

Noun

nymphe (plural nymphes or nymphæ)

1. (rare or archaic) Alternative spelling of nymph

French

Etymology

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French nimphe, borrowed from Latin nympha or nymphe (“nymph”), from Ancient Greek ????? (númph?, “young woman, nymph”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??f/
• Homophone: nymphes
• Hyphenation: nymphe

Noun

nymphe f (plural nymphes)

1. nymph

Further reading

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

Latin

Alternative forms

• nympha

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ????? (númph?, “bride, nymph”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?nym.p?e?/, [?n?mp?e?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?nim.fe/, [?nimf?]

Noun

nymph? f (genitive nymph?s); first declension

1. Alternative form of nympha

Declension

First-declension noun (Greek-type).

References

• nymphe in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English

Noun

nymphe

1. Alternative form of nimphe