Link Centre Dictionary

Cinderella

cin·de·rella

UK/ˌsɪndəˈɹɛlə/ US/ˌsɪndɜrˈɛlʌ/ fairly common informal

noun

1.

a woman whose merits were not been recognized but who then achieves sudden success and recognition

2.

a fictional young girl who is saved from her stepmother and stepsisters by her fairy godmother and a handsome prince

Origin

From cinder + Italian -ella, as in little cinder girl. Compare French Cendrillon.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.