Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GAMINE
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pronounce
GAMINE:
Several ways are correct. I say it "GAM een."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
You might refer to a dainty, impish, elfish actress or character as gaminesque.
And, you might you refer to a tall, feminine, stately, goddess-like actress or character as J___esque. Can you recall that word?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Here's Clark MacDonald playing Gavroche, a streetwise young hero in Les Miserables.
This kind of character is a gamin: a boy who runs wild in the streets, one who's often playful, sneaky, mischievous, and lovable. And disheveled: note the messy hair and dirty face.
"Gamin" comes straight from French, where it can simply mean "young boy." It might trace back to a word meaning "steal," but we're not sure about that.
In French, the feminine form of gamin is gamine, and we took that word into English, also. Strictly speaking, a gamine is a young girl who runs loose in the streets, like Eponine below, also from Les Miserables.
More loosely, a gamine is a girl or young woman who seems playful, sneaky, lovable, and mischievous, especially one who's cute, dainty, and elfish, such as Holly Golightly below, from Breakfast at Tiffany's.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "She's a lovable gamine;" "She plays this gamine so well."
Also an adjective: "her gamine face," "this gamine hairstyle."
Other forms:
Like I mentioned, there's the masculine form, "gamin."
The plurals are "gamins" and "gamines."
And while we can use "gamin" and "gamine" as adjectives themselves, there's also a formal adjective, "gaminesque," pronounced "GAM in ESK" and applied to any gender.
There's also a noun for the behavior of gamins and gamines: "gaminerie," pronounced "guh MEEN uh ree." (Several other pronunciations are correct, but that one sounds best to me.)
how to use it:
Rare, and a bit fancy, the word "gamine" is one of those super-specific ones that helps you convey a heap of characteristics all at once.
You might refer to a girl, woman, or fictional character as a gamine, or talk about her gamine hair, looks, charm, mischief, mystique, etc.
examples:
"Cécile de France, a blond gamine who's endearingly squeaky of voice and spiky of hair, provides the center around which the other characters revolve in 'Avenue Montaigne.'"
— Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times, 23 March 2007
"Now 26 and living in Seattle, [Amanda Knox] is losing her gamine prettiness. She is still beautiful, but morphing before our eyes into someone different: an intelligent, strong, verbal woman."
— Katie Crouch, Salon, 9 February 2014
has this page helped you understand "gamine"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "gamine" without saying "female urchin" or "mischievous girl."
try it out:
When the clothing designer Jason Wu created affordable pieces for Target, he referred to those pieces as "gamine chic."
Considering both the stricter and looser meanings of the word "gamine," talk about why Wu's description could be considered either weirdly contradictory or perfectly logical. And, talk about whether or not this "gamine chic" style appeals to you.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for August is "Heard it in Hamilton."
Check out a snippet of lyrics from Hamilton: An American Musical, and see if you can come up with the missing word. You can check your answer by scrolling all the way down.
Try this one today:
SEABURY:
Heed not the _____ who scream revolution;
they have not your interests at heart.
MULLIGAN:
Oh my God. Tear this dude apart.
Definition of the missing word: "a loud, low-class, disorderly, animalistic swarm of people."
Number of syllables: 2.
review this word:
A. a KNOCKOUT.
B. a SOCIALITE.
C. a REVOLUTIONARY.
2.
If your character is a gamine, cast an actress with _____.
A. an imposing build and a sharp face
B. a muscular build and a classic face
C. a slight build and a childlike face
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Here's Clark MacDonald playing Gavroche, a streetwise young hero in Les Miserables.
Part of speech:
Rare, and a bit fancy, the word "gamine" is one of those super-specific ones that helps you convey a heap of characteristics all at once.
"Cécile de France, a blond gamine who's endearingly squeaky of voice and spiky of hair, provides the center around which the other characters revolve in 'Avenue Montaigne.'"
Explain the meaning of "gamine" without saying "female urchin" or "mischievous girl."
When the clothing designer Jason Wu created affordable pieces for Target, he referred to those pieces as "gamine chic."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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