blond

Pronunciation

• IPA: /blɒnd/ (UK); /blɑnd/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French blont (“fair, blond”), feminine blonde,^[2][3][4][5] from the same source as Medieval Latin blundus (“yellow”),^[3][4] probably of Germanic, perhaps Frankish, origin.^[2][3][4][6] If Germanic, it may be related to Old English blonden-feax “grey-haired”, literally “of mixed colour”,^[4][6] but its origin is uncertain.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of hair, golden or light golden-brown in colour (1481 in Barnhart; late 15th century in Etymonline).^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was reintroduced in the 17th century from French and was long felt to be French.^[4] As a noun it named a silk lace, originally unbleached (about 1755),^[3][4] and from 1822 a person with fair hair.^[3][4][5] It is also used of light-coloured wood^[5][6] and of pale beer.^[1] English often follows French in writing blond for men and blonde for women.^[2][5][1]

Timeline

• 1481 – adjective, of hair, light golden.^[3]
• c. 1755 – noun, a silk lace.^[3][4]
• 1822 – noun, a fair-haired person.^[3][4][5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of hair, of a flaxen, golden, light auburn or pale yellowish-brown colour.
2. Having fair hair, and usually fair skin and light eyes.
3. Light-coloured, as through bleaching, as in blond wood.

Noun

1. A person with fair hair.
2. A light yellowish-brown to dark greyish-yellow colour.
3. A silk lace, originally unbleached.

Word family

• blondish
• blondness
• blonde
• blondie
• platinum blond
• strawberry blond

Related words

• fair
• flaxen

Usage notes

The AHD notes that spelling blonde for women and blond for men is a fairly recent practice copied from French; since English adjectives do not normally mark gender, some have suggested that blond should be used for both sexes.^[2] Wiktionary observes that many modern writers use either spelling regardless of gender.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House