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A gamine is a slim, often boyish, elegant, wide-eyed young woman who is, or is perceived to be, mischievous, teasing or sexually appealing. The word ''gamine'' is a French word, the feminine form of ''gamin'', originally meaning urchin, waif or playful, naughty child. It was used in English from about the mid-19th century (for example, by William Makepeace Thackeray in 1840 in one of his Parisian sketches), but in the 20th century, came to be applied in its more modern sense. == Lexicography == In 1997 the publisher HarperCollins drew up a list of 101 words – one a year – that defined the years 1896 to 1997.〔See ''The Times'', 3 November 1997〕 "Gamine" was chosen for 1899, being described by Philip Howard in ''The Times'' as follows: ''Gamine'' has been used particularly of such women in the performing arts or world of fashion. In that context, the closest English word – of Anglo-Norman origin – is probably "waif" (although "gamine" is often seen as conveying an additional sense of style and chic). For example, in a press release of 1964, impresario Andrew Oldham described the 17-year-old singer Marianne Faithfull as "shy, wistful, waif-like";〔''Faithfull – An Autobiography'', 1994〕 and writer and musician John Amis referred to German-born actress Luise Rainer (b. 1910) as Paul Muni's "waif-wife" in the 1937 film, ''The Good Earth''.〔''The Oldie'', August 2006〕 ''Gaminerie'' has sometimes been used in English with reference to the behaviour or characteristics of gamin(e)s. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「gamine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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