Brunette vs Brunet / Blonde vs Blond

5 years ago

Hi Verbling! 

Have you ever seen the spelling of one of the above words and thought, "Well that looks wrong..."? 

I have. 

Interestingly enough, the spelling difference between Brunette and Brunet / Blonde and Blond does not stem from the typical American vs British spellings. 

Instead, when 'blonde' and 'brunette' have an 'e' on the end, it denotes that the colour refers to a woman. Without the 'e', it refers to a male. 

So, you could say, "The brunette over there, is extraordinarily beautiful," or, "The blond at the counter asked me to give you his best wishes." 

It's a great way to indicate gender without explicitly doing so. 

Although this was the general rule in the past, it has become increasingly common to use the phrases interchangeably to refer to either gender. 

Are there any other spelling differences you've noticed that have been interesting to you? 
Have a lovely day!
Ari