Mata Hari
/ˌmɑːtə ˈhɑːri
/1 (1876–1917), Dutch dancer and secret agent; born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle. She probably worked for both French and German intelligence services before being executed by the French in 1917.
1.1 (as noun a Mata Hari) A beautiful and seductive female spy: a Mata Hari of world finance...
- If you haven't seen ‘Hare Meets Herr,’ or the one where a Mata Hari pigeon seduces Daffy, you haven't lived.
- If it is hard to see her as a bit of a Mata Hari - and one would rather not - it is even harder to believe that she was a keen stamp collector, holding on to her albums to the end.
Origin
From Malay mata 'eye' and hari 'day', as a compound meaning 'sun'.