minx
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /mɪŋks/
homophone: minks
rhymes: -ɪŋks
Forms: form: minxes
form: minxing
form: minxed
form: minxed
Etymology: PIE word
 *ǵʰmṓ
The origin of the noun is uncertain. The following possible derivations have been suggested:
* A variation of minikin (“(obsolete) young person, especially a young woman; small or insignificant person, thing, or amount”) + a variation of -s (suffix forming hypocoristic nouns (nicknames)) (compare minckins, a variant of minikin).
* From Dutch mens, mensch (“human being, person; (derogatory, informal) woman”) (obsolete), Middle Dutch minsc, minsce, minsch; or from German Low German minsch, minsk, Middle Low German minsche (“hussy, wench”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *manniskaz (“human”, adjective), from *mann- (“human being, person; man”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰmṓ (“earthling”), *men- (“to mind; to think; spiritual activity”), or *mon- (“human being; man”)) + *-iskaz (suffix meaning ‘characteristic of, pertaining to’ forming adjectives).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Senses: examples: text: [He] knows the dress of every girl he meets— / In fact could cut you out the very plan, / Each article could name, and tell you every shade, / Whether adorning minxing miss or ancient maid!
ref: 1861, [Dr. Milligan], “Flight the Fifth”, in Baal: Or, Sketches of Social Evils. A Poem, in Ten Flights, London: William Freeman, […], →OCLC, page 102:
text: Alison might have, if she hadn't minxed herself out of a job.
ref: 2001 July, Alan Bissett, Damage Land: New Scottish Gothic Fiction, Edinburgh: Polygon, →ISBN, page 60:
text: She grabbed desperately at the pistol, singeing hot, and she and Ginny fell to the floor, Marion on top and looking down at twisty little Ginny, that minxing blond thrush, now beneath her, churning under her and spitting and hacking and cursing Marion and cursing her so.
ref: 2009, Megan Abbott, Bury Me Deep, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 121:
text: It's just a late date. It's like I'm Carrie Bradshaw, minxing it around Manhattan.
ref: 2010, Eleanor Moran, Mr Almost Right, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN:
text: Moonface minxed and flashed her red nails like a dancer, chameleon that she was.
ref: 2013, Norm Sibum, “Book III—In Continuation, a Proper Narrative”, in Dan Wells, editor, The Traymore Rooms: A Novel in Five Parts: Quebec, America and Rome, Windsor, Ont.: Biblioasis, →ISBN, part 2 (Echo’s Gone), page 261:
text: Sadly, I was the one minxing around, so I was inevitably going to meet a horrible death.
ref: 2014, Kelly Brook, Close Up: The Autobiography, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, →ISBN:
synonyms: word: blissom
word: chamber
word: colt
word: gill
word: harlot
word: harlotize
word: minx
word: rake
word: rig
word: slut
word: trollop
word: wanton
word: wantonize
glosses: Used transitively when followed by it: to behave like a minx, that is, in a flirtatious and impudent manner.
examples: text: Whether you're sipping fine bubbly from a crystal flute while having your nails minxed, or soaking in a heavenly milk bath, a visit to Miss Fox is your ticket to forget your worries and simply indulge.
ref: 2012, Hide & Seek Melbourne 2, Prahran, Vic.: Explore Australia Publishing, →ISBN:
glosses: To make (someone) like a minx; (intransitive) to become like a minx.