Articles relating to debutantes, young women of aristocratic or upper-class family background who have reached maturity and, as new adults, are presented to society at a formal "debut" (UK: /ˈdeɪbjuː, ˈdɛbjuː/ DAY-bew, DEB-yoo, US: /deɪˈbjuː/ day-BEW; French: début [deby]) or possibly debutante ball. Originally, the term meant that the women were old enough to be married, and part of the purpose of their coming out was to display them to eligible bachelors and their families, with a view to marriage within a select circle.