young-ladyism

noun

Behaviour befitting, or typical of, a young lady.

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Meanings

nounyoung-ladyism (uncountable)
  1. dateduncountableBehaviour befitting, or typical of, a young lady.

    Though Lady Mary had none of the young-ladyism or sentimentality of girls of her age, we are not to suppose her either hard or masculine.

    1860, Grace Wharton, Philip Wharton, The Queens of Society
    1 more example

    […] Fanny, forgetful of her young-ladyism and her sixteen years, had boxed Tom's ears, and Tom, resenting the insult, had forcibly seated her in the coal-hod, where he held her with one hand while he returned the compliment with the other.

    1869–1870, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “New Fashions”, in An Old-Fashioned Girl, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1870, →OCLC, page 31

Origin

From young lady + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

young-ladyism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/young-ladyism

MLA

“young-ladyism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/young-ladyism. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “young-ladyism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/young-ladyism.

Source: young-ladyism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.