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zephyrette

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zephyrette¹

Where it comes from

From zephyr + -ette.

noun zephyrettes

  1. A type of light, crisp cracker, used primarily for some hors d'oeuvres. Spread zephyrettes with quince jelly and sprinkle with chopped English walnut meat. Place a zephyrette over each and press together.
  2. A daughter of Aeolus; a tiny female spirit of the wind. The storm, however, subsided ; and subsequently I discovered, upon music and the opera becoming the topics of conversation, that Mr. Nobody rivalled Paganini on the violin ; and believed that his lady danced better than the zephyrette, Taglioni; and that Herz, Hummel, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and

Zephyrette²

  • /ˌzɛfəˈɹɛt/ US, UK
  • /ˈzɛfə(ˌ)ɹɛt/ US, UK

Rhymes with -ɛt

Where it comes from

From zephyr (“light wind from the west”) + -ette (suffix forming nouns meaning the female equivalent of something). Zephyr is derived from Latin zephyrus, Zephyrus (“personification of the west wind”), from Ancient Greek Ζέφῠρος (Zéphŭros, “personification of the west wind”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃yebʰ- (“to enter, penetrate; to copulate”). Sense 1 (“on-board hostess”) is derived from the California Zephyr train.

noun Zephyrettes

  1. historical An on-board hostess on the California Zephyr train, which originally operated between 1949 and 1970. The Zephyrette then takes the reservations of the Pullman passengers.
  2. A lightweight print fabric used for women's dresses. I'm going to select one of those beautiful fast-color Zephyrette patterns for my 'prize' dress.

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MLA

"zephyrette." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/zephyrette. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

zephyrette. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/zephyrette

Chicago

"zephyrette." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/zephyrette.

BibTeX
@misc{zephyrette_2026,
  title = {zephyrette},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/zephyrette},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}