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English translation: flirting. used with men and women

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:coquetry, coquettish
Selected answer:flirting. used with men and women
Entered by: Stephanie Ezrol

11:45 Mar 1, 2010
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: coquetry, coquettish
are these words ever used without sexual references, like of someone who's trying to solicit attention and/or praise by his behaviour? are these words ever applied to men, gays not counting?

e.g. an author, who's pretty much certain his text is well-crafted, on being complimented on its merits says "oh, that trifle, it does not really count, it's not half good" etc. - merely to extract more compliments and to be assured that he's a genius

TIA

NB:
- please no copy-paste from dictionaries, I've got plenty
- native speakers only, please
danya
Local time: 03:36
yes men and women
Explanation:
When you call a man (or a woman coquesttish) you are saying that he is flirting, but that does not necessarily have a sexual connotation. And if you use the term coquettish to describe a man's actions, you are in that sense calling him girlish -- saying he's acting like a woman. But that is a very normal thing to do in English (and I think in most language cultures.) The sense can be anywhere from mildly ironic to strongly pejorative.

One of the irony of the word itself, and its "gender" usage, is that it is derived from cock, its the diminutive. A cock will strut its stuff, boast about his genius,as in to be cocky. The coquette might play or flirt with false modesty - definitely flirty in the sense of pretending.

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Note added at 38 mins (2010-03-01 12:24:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It is flirting, but flirting does not always mean sexual, as in:

Don't do that. You're flirting with disaster.

or

Don't take him seriously. He doesn't mean that, he's only flirting with you.

or

He'll never go ahead with it, he's only flirting with the idea, he's not serious about it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2010-03-01 12:58:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here's one masculine coquette, in the news in the UK.

Only Germany's Kirch Group remains outside this charmed circle of broadcasters and industry sources are convinced Leo Kirch, chairman of the private company, will have no choice but to drop his own digital standard and join what has become the dominant alliance in Germany.

"He is being coquettish, and may take his time," one senior alliance source said. "But the Bertelsmann-CLT link has clearly shaken him, and he is looking isolated."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/deregulation-key-...
Selected response from:

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 20:36
Grading comment
thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4yes men and women
Stephanie Ezrol
2 +1sexual
Jack Doughty


Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
sexual


Explanation:
I've never come across it without some sexual, or at least romantic, connotation. But that's just my experience.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:36
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 518

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oliver Lawrence: I would say that to hope to use the word without suggesting any trace of feminine/effeminate sexual flirtatiousness would be risky, unless one was very sure of the context and the target readership
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
yes men and women


Explanation:
When you call a man (or a woman coquesttish) you are saying that he is flirting, but that does not necessarily have a sexual connotation. And if you use the term coquettish to describe a man's actions, you are in that sense calling him girlish -- saying he's acting like a woman. But that is a very normal thing to do in English (and I think in most language cultures.) The sense can be anywhere from mildly ironic to strongly pejorative.

One of the irony of the word itself, and its "gender" usage, is that it is derived from cock, its the diminutive. A cock will strut its stuff, boast about his genius,as in to be cocky. The coquette might play or flirt with false modesty - definitely flirty in the sense of pretending.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2010-03-01 12:24:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It is flirting, but flirting does not always mean sexual, as in:

Don't do that. You're flirting with disaster.

or

Don't take him seriously. He doesn't mean that, he's only flirting with you.

or

He'll never go ahead with it, he's only flirting with the idea, he's not serious about it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2010-03-01 12:58:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here's one masculine coquette, in the news in the UK.

Only Germany's Kirch Group remains outside this charmed circle of broadcasters and industry sources are convinced Leo Kirch, chairman of the private company, will have no choice but to drop his own digital standard and join what has become the dominant alliance in Germany.

"He is being coquettish, and may take his time," one senior alliance source said. "But the Bertelsmann-CLT link has clearly shaken him, and he is looking isolated."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/deregulation-key-...

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 20:36
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 156
Grading comment
thank you!
Notes to answerer
Asker: now that's interesting! thank you for your input)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jim Tucker (X): Yes, if one does not define all flirting as sexual. Tend to agree. An actor can flirt with an audience, for example, and be described adventurously (but not outlandishly) as "coquettish."
2 mins
  -> Thanks Jim
agree  Thayenga
2 hrs
  -> Thanks Thayenga
agree  Alexandra Taggart
7 hrs
  -> Thanks Alexandra
agree  Joyce A
16 hrs
  -> Thanks Joyce
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