Quote:
Originally posted by Taualumna
I'm pretty sure debutante balls originated in Europe, not the south. Perhaps the word "debutante" is southern, though. In Jane Austen's books, she uses "coming-out" rather than
debutante. It's basically the same thing.
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It's a French word in origin....if it came out of the South, it's probably from all the French people who hightailed it down there from (what is now) French-Canada.
Main Entry: 1de·but
Variant(s): also dé·but /'dA-"byü, dA-'/
Function: noun
Etymology: French début, from débuter to begin, from Middle French desbuter to play first, from des- de- + but starting point, goal -- more at BUTT
1 : a first appearance <made her singing debut>
2 : a formal entrance into society