femme fatale








noun, plural femmes fa·tales [fem fuh-talz, -tahlz, fey-; French fam fa-tal] /ˌfɛm fəˈtælz, -ˈtɑlz, feɪ-; French fam faˈtal/.

  1. an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations; siren.

noun plural femmes fatales (fam fatal, English ˈfɛm fəˈtælz, -ˈtɑːlz)

  1. an alluring or seductive woman, esp one who causes men to love her to their own distress
n.

“attractive and dangerous woman,” 1895, from French femme fatale, attested by 1844, from French femme “woman,” from Latin femina (see feminine) + fatale (see fatal).

Une femme fatale est une femme qui porte malheur. [Jules Claretie, “La Vie a Paris,” 1896]

Earlier, such a woman might be called a Circe.

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