Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun fiction, rare An unimportant or expendable female character, especially one introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril faced by important characters.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

red +‎ skirt. Patterned after redshirt, which derived from the tendency for male security officers, who wore red shirts, to die on episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. Female crew members wore minidresses, but only one red-uniformed female character was killed during the series' run, in the episode "By Any Other Name."

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