gamine

plural gamines

1. A (usually female) street urchin; a homeless girl.
2. A mischievous, playful, elfish, pert girl or young woman.

comparative more gamine · superlative most gamine

1. Having a boyish, mischievous charm; elfish, typically with short hair.First known use 20th c.

   In her navy linen trousers and her, perhaps too tight, white jersey, Jennifer was determinedly gamine.

   1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 54

   2 more examples

   It’s a wildly dated-looking and derivative film, a quaint adventure in fantasised naughtiness, like Ozon’s teen prostitute fantasy Jeune et Jolie in 2013, which starred his lead actress here, Marine Vacth, in a similarly gamine role.

   2017 May 25, Peter Bradshaw, “L'Amant Double review – camp-classic status beckons for François Ozon's softcore silliness”, in The Guardian

   Her hair was cut short in the current style, but on her it looked a bit less gamine than mannish, which drew Lily's attention.

   2021, Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Dutton Books for Young Readers, page 13