aigrette means A feather or plume, or feather-shaped item, used as an adornment or ornament, typically in hats or hair. It carries an Arena rating of 1648, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, aigrette ranks #904 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words, #2,073 of 17,120 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,694 of 17,137 for Most Exacting Words, #3,385 of 17,128 for Most Whimsical Words.
aigrette is pronounced /ˈeɪ.ɡɹɛt/.
Why “aigrette” is a great word
A delicate, upright spray of feathers, typically from an egret, worn as an ornament on a hat or in the hair. From the French aigrette ("egret"), itself from the Old Provençal aigreta, a diminutive of aigron ("heron"), likely of Germanic origin (compare Old High German heiger, "heron"). First attested in English in the 1630s. Unlike a “plume,” which suggests a broad, sweeping feather, or “panache,” which evokes the flamboyant spirit of display, an aigrette is the specific, exquisite object itself. It is the jeweled heron feather trembling above a Victorian veil, the platinum spray catching gaslight at an opera premiere, the stolen elegance that signifies both supreme refinement and a quiet extinction—a beauty so desired it necessitates a law to protect the bird from the milliner’s art.
Etymology
Borrowed from French aigrette (“egret”). Doublet of egret.
noun
- A feather or plume, or feather-shaped item, used as an adornment or ornament, typically in hats or hair.
- The lesser white heron.e.g.“Birds of many kinds skimmed the weedy flats. George pointed out a flock of aigrets, the beautiful wild fowl with the priceless plumes.”
- The feathery crown of some seeds (such as the dandelion).
Words closest in meaning
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