the.com/deb
A woman presented to society like a debutante ball still exists and matters.
means Short for debutante — a young woman formally introduced to society, traditionally at a coming-out ball.
from Clipped from 'debutante,' borrowed whole from French, where débutante is the feminine form of débutant — 'one who is beginning,' from débuter, 'to begin' or literally 'to make the first stroke' (as in billiards or bowls), built from the prefix dé- plus but, 'goal' or 'mark.' English society pages shortened it to 'deb' sometime in the 20th century, the way a long velvet gown gets hemmed for convenience.
- origin
- short for debutante, French for beginner
- peak era
- 1950s cotillions and white-glove balls
- modern use
- often sarcastic, applied to overdressed newcomers
- linguistic twist
- debut and debt share the same French root