Cinderella Hear it!

Cinderella definition

Cin·der·ella (sin′dər el′ə)

noun

  1. the title character of a fairy tale, a household drudge who, with the help of a fairy godmother, marries a prince
  2. a person or thing whose merit, value, or beauty is for a time unrecognized

Etymology: cinder + dim. suffix -ella: like Fr Cendrillon (dim. < cendre, ashes), a partial transl. of Ger Aschenbrödel, lit., scullion (< asche, ash + brodeln, bubble up, brew)

adjective

resembling Cinderella in being elevated suddenly to a position of honor, glory, etc. a Cinderella team in a basketball tournament

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.