coquette

Coquette is a noun describing a person, typically a woman, who flirts and uses charm to attract attention. It can also function as an adjective—coquettish describes flirtatious, coy, or teasing behavior—and related forms include coquet, the masculine form, and coquetry, the act or quality of flirting. The term has long been used in English to label a social type and to describe certain feminine movements within courtship and performance.

Etymology and variants: The word comes from French coquette, the feminine form of coquet meaning a flirt. English adopted the term in the early modern period, where it has retained its gendered and social connotations of playful, often strategic, attraction.

Usage and meaning: In historical and literary contexts, a coquette is someone who uses flirtation as a social mechanism. The label can be neutral, descriptive, or pejorative depending on tone, era, and context. In discussions of gender and culture, coquetry is analyzed as a form of social performance that intersects with norms around femininity, power, and desirability. While less common in formal modern writing, the concept persists in analyses of fashion, performance, and interpersonal dynamics.

Notable uses: The Coquette, a 1797 novel by Hannah Webster Foster, is a landmark work that explores romance, virtue, and society under the title’s implicature. The Coquette is also the title of a 1929 film starring Mary Pickford; she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in this film. The term appears across literature and criticism as a versant of flirtation, charm, and social presentation, often linked to broader cultural attitudes toward femininity and allure.