Aigrette
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈeɪɡɹɪt/
Origin
From French aigrette ‘egret’.
Full definition of aigrette
Noun
aigrette
(plural aigrettes)- The lesser white heron; the egret.
- A feather or plume, or feather-shaped item, used as an adornment or ornament.
- 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, III.77:His turban, furled in many a graceful fold,
An emerald aigrette, with Haidée's hair in't,
Surmounted as its clasp .... - 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 181:Young women attired often in nothing more than ostrich-feather aigrettes dyed in colors of doubtful taste ran nubilely up and down the marble staircases, chased by young men in razor-toed ball shoes of patent-leather.
- The feathery crown of some seeds (such as the dandelion)
- (obsolete) A plume or tuft for the head composed of feathers, or gems, etc.