mignon

/ˈmɪnjɒn/

Etymology

From French mignon, from Middle French mignon (“lover, darling, favourite”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Cognate with Old High German minna (“love, care, affection, desire, memory”), Old Saxon minnia (“love”). More at mind. Compare Dutch minnen (“to love”). Doublet of minion.

adj

Small and cute; pretty in a delicate way; dainty.“"Will you not wear these to-morrow?" said the King, offering one pair to Madame de Merœur; then, turning to her sister, he added, "I only hope yours are small enough for those mignon hands."”

name

A left tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
A female given name from French.“'Yes,' said Mignon, and stretched out her hand for it, but they would not let her take it back.”
A surname from French.

noun

A cute or pretty person; a dandy; a pretty child.““I wish the blow he dealt to that fine essenced mignon had beat his brains out.””
One of the court favourites of Henry III of France.“When the mignons, barefoot and clad in sacks with holes for their heads and feet, marched with Henry in a penitential procession, lashing their backs, one wit opined that they should have aimed their blows lower.”