1. a maidservant or lady's maid in a play, opera, or the like, especially one displaying coquetry, pertness, and a tendency to engage in intrigue.
2. an actress playing such a role.
3. any lively or pert young woman.
< French: lady's maid < Provençal soubreto, derivative of soubret affected, ultimately derivative of Old Provençal sobrar < Latin superāre to be above (dictionary.com)
"Katya began slipping up in matters that required discretion, so Jacaranda persuaded the butler to administer a timid spanking without removing his gloves, and the wayward soubrette also received a mild reproof in her own handwriting as dictated by Mustafovic himself in his suite at Hotel Artaud....
"'Throw in your dishtowel, you retrograde roustabout, and take a disinterested shuffle through the Seven Deadly Virtues with my svelte soubrette and me,' said Yolanta to the tarted-up bartender on the outs with his boyfriend, Flip."
- Karen Elizabeth Gordon, Out of the Loud Hound of Darkness: A Dictionarrative
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