nubile

Reader's Digest 12月号にあったThe Fishing Fleetと題された記事の説明文です。
In the time of the Raj, countless women made the passage to india to hook a husband
英国の植民地となったインドは嫁不足（もちろん英国人の）なので、英国では相手にされない若い女性が多くThe Fishing Fleetとして英国に渡ったそうです。
Unsurprisingly, many of the Fishing Fleet found husbands when they reached India - or even before arriving. There was a pretty good chance on the ship itself, filled as it was with nubile (if chaperoned) young women and a number of bachelor, some of whom had tried unsuccessfully to find a bride during their months of leave and were delighted to be offered another chance.
今日覚えたい単語は "nubile" です。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: describes a woman who is young and sexually attractive: Rich old men often like to be surrounded by nubile young women.
・Vocabulary.com: of girls or women who are eligible to marry
Nubile is a word for young women who are attractive and "suitable for marriage" (which honestly sounds sort of chauvinistic). Feminist idealism aside, nubile is a flattering term for a gal. It means youthful and sexy.
Nubile stems from an ancient Latin term which meant "marriageable." While nice young men are certainly marriageable, the term is solely used in relation to women, and now refers to their ripe sexy beauty, not necessarily qualities that could make them a dependable, loving wife. Nubile is used more now in describing a gal who is hot and sexy -- more ideal for the hip-hop video shoot, not co-hosting your family for Thanksgiving.
元々結婚適齢期の若い女性を指したのでしょうが、最後に引用した辞書によると対象となる女性が最近は "hot and sexy" な女性に変ってきているようです。