What is the male counterpart of nubile?

Is there an accepted word that means a man (boy) ready for marriage?

I only found sites having nubile males or faunlets as near alternatives.


Stripling. OED:

A youth, one just passing from boyhood to manhood.

Since nubile is so often used salaciously, this is a particularly zesty male equivalent.

If you want to go classical, try ephebe or ephebus.


There is not an exact male equivalent of nubile for the sense of being ready for marriage.

You can use marriageable as a gender neutral word. Nubile comes from Latin nubilis which means marriageable.

Today, nubile is used for "young and sexually attractive" woman. In the past, it had been used in the same meaning as in Latin, but now this use is only found in technical contexts.