Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A young swan.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A young swan; specifically, in heraldry, a small swan. Swans, when more than one are borne, are commonly called cygnets, though the representation is exactly the same as that of the swan so called.
Wiktionary
- n. The immature young of a swan.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A young swan.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a young swan
Etymologies
- From Middle English cignet, signet, from Anglo-Norman cignet, diminutive of Old French cigne ("swan"), from Latin cygnus, cycnus ("swan"), from Ancient Greek κύκνος (kýknos, "swan"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English cignet, from Anglo-Norman, diminutive of Old French cygne, swan, from Latin cygnus, from Greek kuknos. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The couple in the southern end of the lake, raising four brown cygnets, are trying to drive out the other family, which has one cygnet.”
“Unbelievably, the cygnet appeared again, its tiny bill silently grabbing at the air.”
“Despite their efforts, the cygnet was once again able to raise its head above the surface and screech.”
“Carl de Souza/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The uppers collected a cygnet swan during their trip.”
“Sang Tan/Associated Press Swan uppers released a swan and a cygnet back onto the river at Bray, near Windsor, Monday.”
“Sang Tan/Associated Press A captured cygnet was inspected at Bray.”
“Up to the mid-1800s, swan marking was akin to cow branding: A unique mark, carved into the beak of a newborn cygnet, designated ownership by a specific, chartered family or organization.”
“Alas! my child, why fling thy arms around me, as a snowy cygnet folds its wings about the frail old swan?”
“Now, the young cygnet has grown into an attractive, charismatic and destined-to-be powerful player.”
“Knowing, as she did, things which the cygnet could not even dimly perceive, shetook it upon herself to act as her guide.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘cygnet’.
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Interesting
iridescent, luminescent, gossamer, blithe, illusory, halo, cygnet, covet, bloody, iris, pruinose, limerence and 15 more...
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Wordsthatcouldbeusedinmyth
bicephalous, invertebrate, amaranthine, befuddle, browbeat, expurgation, bigoted, groan, telic, untoward, mummer, formalist and 17 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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Joycean Vocab
You ain't read no English til you read Joyce.
rasher, cygnet, usquebaugh, ephebe, entelechy, kish, caul, vicereine, atelier, daguerreotype, communard, connubial and 99 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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the most beautiful
velvet, wainwright, susurrous, nutmeg, pegasus, tintinnabular, gossamer, lyricism, rococo, townlet, prince, nymph and 139 more...
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The O.U.P. Junior Dictionary Death Row
Another news story about words being removed from a dictionary before their time. See also the list of words added to the dictionary.
carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, dwarf, elf, goblin, abbey, aisle, altar, bishop and 137 more...
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (C)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
cacophony, cad, cajole, calamity, camomile, camphor, candlemas, candy apple, canopy, canticle, caparison, caravan and 304 more...
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Allographic Homophones
Words that can be pronounced identically but are spelled differently. I've started with unusual or extensive sets. In some of these sets, no one speaker would pronounce them all the same. I've trie...
air, are, ayr, ayre, e'er, ere, err, eyre, heir, apatite, appetite, picnic and 226 more...
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ulyssean
... as in "by James Joyce"
stately, plump, aloft, gurgling, untonsured, chrysostomos, jowl, parapet, jesuit, indigestion, scutter, noserag and 688 more...
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Hampsteader's list
Just some words i like . . .
bilkirkegaard, frost, flaxen, snow, quoin, quern, westering, deer, antler, solstice, autumn, autumnal and 114 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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lanklenmot's Words
ineluctable, prelapsarian, bien pensant, prospero, preternatural, gratifying, iconoclast, cineast, persnickety, tumescent, galvanize, pap and 887 more...
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Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
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rich words
auburn, aureole, relic, reliquary, aureate, umber, lyric, elegy, requiem, jacinth, sable, penumbra and 95 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for cygnet.
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