Frondeuse
/fʁɔ̃.døz/noun
A female rebel or agitator; in French history, a woman associated with the Fronde or a quarrelsome, defiant woman.
Did you know?Frondeuse comes from the same root as *fronde* (“sling”), so the word’s political edge began as a weapon-flinging image before it became a label for defiance.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
fundere
“to pour, scatter”
Late Latin
Latin
funda
“sling”
Old French
Old French
fronde
“sling”
17th Century
French
Fronde
“the anti-royalist civil wars in France; literally, "sling"”
Modern French
French
frondeuse
“a female rebel, agitator, or contentious woman”