gamine

n.

1. An often homeless girl who roams about the streets; an urchin.
2. A girl or woman of impish appeal.

[French, feminine of gamin, gamin.]

gamine ga·mine' adj.

Gamine she may have been in her earlier films, but Audrey Tautou has escaped from that label in her latest role, Sophie in The Da Vinci Code. So says A.O. Scott of The New York Times:

"Ms. Tautou, determined to ensure that her name will never again come up in an Internet search for the word 'gamine,' affects a look of worried fatigue."

Link: The Da Vinci Code - Review - Movies

Posted May 21, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

a homeless girl: urchin

IN BRIEF: n. - A girl of impish appeal; A homeless girl who roams the streets.

Tutor's tip: A "gamin" (a boy with an impish manner) and a "gamine" (a bright mischievous girl) might work together to bring home a "gammon" (a side of bacon).

Dansk (Danish)
n. - skælmsk tøsebarn
adj. - skælmsk

Nederlands (Dutch)
straatmeid, wildebras (meisje)

Français (French)
n. - gamine, garçon manqué
adj. - à la garçonne

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gassenkind, Mädchen mit jungenhaftem Charme
adj. - charakteristisch für dieses Mädchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αγοροκόριτσο, τσαχπινούλα

Italiano (Italian)
monella

Português (Portuguese)
n. - menina (f) de rua, diabrete (m)

Русский (Russian)
уличная девчонка, девочка, обладающая мальчишеским очарованием

Español (Spanish)
n. - golfilla, muchacha callejera
adj. - de baja estatura, muy delgada

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gamäng (flicka)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
女流浪儿, 女顽童, 女流浪的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 女流浪兒, 女頑童
adj. - 女流浪的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 말괄량이
adj. - 말괄량이의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - おてんば娘

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فتاة تتسكع على الطرقات‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮נערה שובבה, ילדת רחוב, בת שיש בה קסם נערי‬
adj. - ‮שובבה‬

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