200: sweet-sixteen Jun 26, 2015

Which came first, the term "sweet sixteen" or the debutant ball itself‽ The name did. The term is used to express the age of a now-mature-enough-to-marry girl, not the party itself. Now that there is far more freedom to be had for teenaged girls, and the practice of a girl having her first debutant ball at 16 dispelled, it is the party one has, which has gained the title "sweet sixteen".