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". Download high resolution version (1280x1707, 131 KB)Picture of a brunette on a dark background. ... In linguistics, grammatical genders, also called noun classes, are classes of nouns reflected in the behavior of associated words; every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be very few which belong to several classes at once (Hockett 1958: 231). ... 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. ... A female with brown hair. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

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.

For genetic reasons, a brunette will usually have darker-coloured eyes and a relatively dark or olive complexion. Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Color is an important part of the visual arts. ... An eye is an organ that detects light. ... Historical data for native populations collected by R. Biasutti prior to 1940. ...

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. In biology, pigment is any material resulting in color in plant or animal cells which is the result of selective absorption. ... Melanin is a polymer of either or both of two monomer molecules: indolequinone, and dihydroxyindole carboxylic acid. ... Melanin is a polymer of either or both of two monomer molecules: indolequinone, and dihydroxyindole carboxylic acid. ... One of the worlds most famous blondes Marilyn Monroe, who was in fact a natural brunette Blond (feminine, blonde) is a hair colour found in certain mammals characterised by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and higher levels of the pale pigment phæomelanin, in common with red or... Red hair is a hair color shared by several species, among them humans, orangutans, domestic cats, cattle, and horses. ...

See also

• blonde
• red hair
• pigment
• skin
• human skin colour
• hair colour
• melanin