Blond

Blond or blonde (see below), or fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color. The color can be from the very pale blond (caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment) to reddish "strawberry" blond colors or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond colors (the latter with more eumelanin). On the Fischer–Saller scale blond color ranges from A to J (blond brown).

Etymology, spelling, and grammar

The word "blond" is first attested in English in 1481 and derives from Old French blund, blont meaning "a colour midway between golden and light chestnut". It gradually eclipsed the native term "fair", of same meaning, from Old English fæġer, causing "fair" later to become a general term for "light complexioned". This earlier use of "fair" survives in the proper name Fairfax, from Old English fæġer-feahs meaning "blond hair".

The French (and thus also the English) word "blond" has two possible origins. Some linguists say it comes from Medieval Latin blundus, meaning "yellow", from Old Frankish blund which would relate it to Old English blonden-feax meaning "grey-haired", from blondan/blandan meaning "to mix" (Cf. blend). Also, Old English beblonden meant "dyed" as ancient Germanic warriors were noted for dying their hair. However, linguists who favor a Latin origin for the word say that Medieval Latin blundus was a vulgar pronunciation of Latin flavus, also meaning yellow. Most authorities, especially French, attest the Frankish origin. The word was reintroduced into English in the 17th century from French, and was for some time considered French; in French, "blonde" is a feminine adjective; it describes a woman with blond hair.

Blonde (disambiguation)

Blonde is a hair color.

Blonde may also refer to:

Film, TV and entertainment

Ships

Music

Blondes (John Stewart album)

Blondes is a studio album released in 1982 by folk musician John Stewart, former member of the Kingston Trio. The LP was released with slightly different track listings in the US and in Sweden.

The liner notes of the US release states:

The Swedish album was released on Polydor and is credited to "John Stewart with Chuck McDermott". The Swedish release contains remixes of all the songs from the US release except "Angeles" which is not included at all. It also contains the following additional songs: "All The Desperate Men", "Same Old Heart" and "When The Night Was Ours".

Track listing (US release)

All compositions by John Stewart.

Running time: 40:17

(* denotes track not released on the Swedish release)