hoyden

noun

hoy·​den ˈhȯi-dᵊn How to pronounce hoyden (audio)
: a girl or woman of saucy, boisterous, or carefree behavior
hoydenish adjective

Examples of hoyden in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Rudeness is of course still frowned upon, and sometimes hoydens behaved in ways that are rude by today’s standards – a girl who pushed another out of her seat at school was a hoyden in 1865. Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoyden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from obsolete Dutch heiden country lout, from Middle Dutch, heathen; akin to Old English hǣthen heathen

First Known Use

1676, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hoyden was in 1676

Dictionary Entries Near hoyden

Cite this Entry

“Hoyden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoyden. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on hoyden

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!