'coquet' originates from French, specifically the word 'coquet' (a diminutive of 'coq'), where 'coq' meant 'cock' (a rooster) and by extension a proud or showy person.

'coquet' entered English from French (compare French 'coquette') in the 17th–18th century; the French diminutive originally referred to a 'little cock' and then to a dandy or a flirt, and English adopted the word as 'coquet'/'coquette'.

Initially it meant 'little cock' or a jaunty/showy person; over time it evolved into the present sense of 'a person who flirts' (especially a woman acting coquettishly).