Brunette

Brunette is the feminine of French brunet, which is a diminutive of brun, brune, meaning brown or dark-haired, ultimately from Latin BRVNVS (brown). It therefore means "little dark-haired girl", but in English usage it has largely lost the diminutive meaning, and simply refers to any dark-haired girl or woman (which is simply brune in French). Brunette in common usage refers to dark brown or black hair, especially dark brown hair. People disagree over whether black or light brown hair counts as brunette. Brunette can probably also refer to lighter shades of brown hair, but isn't as associated with brunette. Women with lighter shades of brown hair may actually be referred to as "light brunettes".

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Only the feminine form has become part of English: "brunet" (with a silent t) theoretically refers to a dark-haired boy or man, but is virtually never used in practice, nor in French, although "Brunet" is a common surname.

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For genetic reasons, a brunette will usually have darker-coloured eyes and a relatively dark or olive complexion.

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Brown and black hair is characterised by high levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment phaeomelanin. It is thicker than fair hair but not as much as red hair.

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Feminine: The word feminine can refer to:...

French: French can refer to more than one article:...

Diminutive: A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object named, intimacy, or endearment. In some languages diminutives are formed in a regular way by adding affixes to nouns and proper names, in English the alteration of meaning is often but ...

Brunette related Images and Photos (experimental)

Young Brunette Wears a Dark Green Dress with Gigot Sleeves with Mancherons and Transparent Cuffs