brunette

Where does the word "brunette" come from? It comes from Frankish brun, passing through French before entering English (1600s-1700s).

Brunette’s story begins in Frankish: brun meant “brown.” A Germanic word for the color brown. By medieval, the word had taken hold in French as brunette. A diminutive feminine form describing brown hair. It reached English by 1600s-1700s as brunette. From Old French 'brun', brown, plus the diminutive '-ette'. Today, brunette means a person, especially a woman, with brown hair.

1. Stage 1 · Frankish · medieval brun "brown", a Germanic word for the color brown.
2. Stage 2 · French · medieval brunette "a brown-haired woman", a diminutive feminine form describing brown hair.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s-1700s brunette "a woman with brown hair", from Old French 'brun', brown, plus the diminutive '-ette'.