brunette

See also: Brunette, brünette, and Brünette

English

Alternative forms

• brunet (rare)

Etymology

Borrowed from French brunette, the feminine form of brunet, from brun (“brown”). Doublet of burnet.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /bɹuˈnɛt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɹuːnɛt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bru‧nette
• Rhymes: -ɛt

Adjective

brunette (not comparable)

1. (of hair) Of a brown color or tone.
2. (of a person) Having brown hair.

Translations

having brown hair

• Arabic: امرأَة ذات شعر بني أو أسود, سمراء
• Bulgarian: тъмноко́с (tǎmnokós)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 棕髮／棕发 (zōngfà)

• Danish: mørkhåret
• Dutch: brunette (nl), brunet (now uncommon)
• Estonian: brünett
• Finnish: ruskeaverikkö, tumma (fi)
• French: brun (fr)
• Galician: moreno (gl)
• German: brünett (de)
• Greek: καστανός (el) (kastanós)
• Irish: donn (ga) donnchiabhach
• Italian: castana (it), castana scura, bruna (it)
• Latvian: tumšmatains
• Macedonian: темнокос (temnokos), црнокос (crnokos)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mørkhåret, mørkhåra

  Nynorsk: mørkhåra

• Portuguese: morena (pt), de/com cabelo castanho
• Romanian: brunetă
• Russian: темноволо́сый (ru) (temnovolósyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: donn
• Spanish: castaño (es) m, castaña (es) f, morocha (es)
• Swedish: brunett (sv), mörkhårig (sv)
• Tagalog: pulahang buhok
• Turkish: esmer (tr)
• Yiddish: ברונעט (brunet)

Noun

brunette (plural brunettes)

1. A person, especially female, with brown hair.
   • 1866, Luke Owen Pike, “The Evidence of Physical Characteristics”, in The English and Their Origin. A Prologue to Authentic English History., London: Longmans, Green, and Co., pages 145–146:

     And M. [Henri-François-Alphonse] Esquiros, in describing the Dutch generally, speaks of beauties both blondes and brunettes, ‘for black hair is not uncommon in the Netherlands.’ These words seem to imply that black hair does not preponderate; and, if not, there must be a marked difference between the Dutch and the English. Here again is confirmation of the opinion that the modern English are somewhat more dark-haired than the ancient Saxons.

   • 1946, William Hatfield, Buffalo Jim, Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege, page 70:

     The housekeeper, a very decorative brunette of thirty-five with a pseudo-English accent, greeted him with a mixture of grateful effusion and condescending patronage.

   • 2020, Eleanore King, Glorify Yourself:

     Brownheads or brunettes use a darker red than blondes and redheads.

Derived terms

• bluenette
• bronde
• brunetteness

 

Translations

a person, especially female, with brown hair

• Arabic: سَمْرَاء f (samrāʔ)
• Bulgarian: брюне́т (bg) m (brjunét), брюне́тка f (brjunétka)
• Czech: bruneta (cs) f
• Danish: brunette (da) c (female)
• Dutch: brunette (nl) f
• Estonian: brünett
• Finnish: tummaverikkö
• French: brune (fr) f, brun (fr) m
• German: Brünette (de) f, Brünetter (de) m
• Greek: καστανή (el) f (kastaní)
• Hebrew: ברונטית f (brunet'it)
• Ido: brunetino (io)
• Irish: bean dhonn f (literally "brown-haired woman"), cailín donn m (literally "brown-haired girl")
• Latvian: tumšmate f, tumšmatis m, brunete f, brunets m
• Macedonian: ка́леша f (káleša), брине́та f (brinéta)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: brunette m or f

  Nynorsk: brunette f

• Polish: brunetka (pl) f, brunet (pl) m, bruneta (pl) f (dated, rare)
• Portuguese: morena (pt) f
• Russian: шате́н (ru) m (šatɛ́n) шате́нка (ru) f (šatɛ́nka)
• Slovak: bruneta f, brunetka (sk) f, brunet (sk) m
• Spanish: morocho (es) m, moreno (es) m
• Swedish: brunett (sv) c
• Turkish: esmer (tr)
• Yiddish: ברונעטין f (brunetin), ברונעטקע f (brunetke), ברונעט m (brunet)

See also

• blonde
• noirette

Anagrams

• Buettner, Burnette

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French brunette, the feminine form of brunet, from brun (“brown”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brunɛtə/, [b̥ʁuˈnɛd̥ə]

Noun

brunette c (singular definite brunetten, plural indefinite brunetter)

1. brunette (a girl or woman with brown or black hair)

Inflection

Declension of brunette

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	brunette	brunetten	brunetter	brunetterne
genitive	brunettes	brunettens	brunetters	brunetternes

See also

• blondine ("blonde", a blond female)

Dutch

Alternative forms

• bruinet (archaic)
• bruinette (archaic)
• brunet

Etymology

Borrowed from French brunette.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbryˈnɛ.tə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bru‧net‧te
• Rhymes: -ɛtə

Noun

brunette f (plural brunettes or brunetten, diminutive brunetje n or brunettetje n)

1. brunette (brown-haired or dark-haired female)

Descendants

• Afrikaans: brunet

Adjective

brunette

1. inflection of brunet:
   1. masculine/feminine singular attributive
   2. definite neuter singular attributive
   3. plural attributive
2. Dated form of brunet.

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

brunette f (plural brunettes)

1. brunette

Further reading

• “brunette”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Noun

brunette f

1. plural of brunetta

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French brunette.

Noun

brunette f or m (definite singular brunetta or brunetten, indefinite plural brunetter, definite plural brunettene)

1. a brunette (woman or girl with dark brown hair)

References

• “brunette” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French brunette.

Noun

brunette f (definite singular brunetta, indefinite plural brunetter, definite plural brunettene)

1. a brunette (as above)

References

• “brunette” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.