A woman's first name, and in particular the name of the Empress Joséphine (1763–1814), Napoleon's first wife. She was born in the Caribbean, was widowed during the French Revolution, and married Napoleon in 1796; he had their marriage ended in 1809 because she had given him no child, and he married again. Her name survives in English mostly because of one sentence she probably never heard: 'Not tonight, Josephine.' There is no good evidence Napoleon ever said it — it seems to come from British stage comedy of the nineteenth century — but the phrase stuck, and English speakers now use it as a light joke meaning 'no thanks, I'm too tired', usually about sex but often about anything at all: another drink, one more game, going out. As an ordinary name, Josephine is the feminine form of Joseph. It sounds a little old-fashioned to many speakers, a grandmother's name, though names like this come back into fashion in cycles. Its short forms are Jo, Josie, and Joey.