Jillet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a flighty, flirtatious young woman who behaves with playful coquetry
2. Old-fashioned word for a giddy, light-minded girl who enjoys flirting and attracting admirers
3. Obsolete noun describing a frivolous young female who is fond of teasing and flirtation

Etymology: Jillet is built on the personal name Jill, a short form of Gill, which in turn comes from Gillian. That name descends from the medieval Latin "Juliana", a feminine form of "Julius", and reached English through Old French. By the time English speakers attached the diminutive ending "-et", borrowed from French, to the name, "Jill" had long been a common name for a girl or young woman. The same pattern gave English "jack" and "jill" as a matched pair of common names, and "jill" also came to mean a female ferret. The "-et" ending makes a small, affectionate or slightly dismissive form, so a jillet was a little girl or young woman, often with a hint of playful or flighty behaviour. The sense of a flirt or an inconstant lover shows how the term could be used to describe a young woman as frivolous. Its close relative "jilt", a woman who casts off a lover, is related in form and was shaped by the same stock of familiar names.