A damsel was originally a young unmarried lady of noble birth, but soon after the introduction of the word from French it appears to have taken on the general meaning of ‘young woman’, ‘a country lass’. In French the word...

The term "damsel", similar to French Demoiselle, meaning "Little lady"— an archaic term, not used in contemporary English except for effect or in expressions such as this—testifies to its origin with the knight errant of Medieval songs and tales,...