cygnet

cygnet
\ \ [15] A cygnet is literally a ‘small swan’.
\ \ The late Old French term for ‘swan’ was cigne, and this was modified with the diminutive suffix -et, probably in Anglo-Norman, to produce *cignet, the source of the English word. Cigne, precursor of modern French cygne, strikes a familiar chord, but in fact its Latin source, cygnus, is a comparatively late development.
\ \ The standard classical Latin word for ‘swan’ was cycnus, from Greek kúknos, which produced in early Old French cisne. A trace of it survives in Spanish cisne ‘swan’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат
Synonyms:


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cygnet — can mean: Cygnet (bird), a young swan Cygnet (ship), a disambiguation page Cygnet, Ohio, a village in the United States Cygnet, Tasmania, a town in Australia Cygnet Cinema, a cinema located at 16 Preston Street, Como, Western Australia Cygnet… …   Wikipedia

  • Cygnet — Staat: Australien Bundesstaat …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cygnet — Cygnet, OH U.S. village in Ohio Population (2000): 564 Housing Units (2000): 222 Land area (2000): 0.337310 sq. miles (0.873630 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.001409 sq. miles (0.003649 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.338719 sq. miles (0.877279 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Cygnet, OH — U.S. village in Ohio Population (2000): 564 Housing Units (2000): 222 Land area (2000): 0.337310 sq. miles (0.873630 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.001409 sq. miles (0.003649 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.338719 sq. miles (0.877279 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Cygnet — Cyg net (s[i^]g n[e^]t), n. [Dim. of F. cygne swan, L. cycnus. cygnus, fr. Gr. ky klos: but F. cygne seems to be an etymological spelling of OF. cisne, fr. LL. cecinus, cicinus, perh. ultimately also fr. Gr. ky klos.] (Zo[ o]l.) A young swan.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cygnet — c.1400, also signet before 17c., from Anglo Fr., dim. of O.Fr. cigne, cisne swan (12c., Mod.Fr. cygne), from L. cygnus, from Gk. kyknos, perhaps from PIE *keuk to be white …   Etymology dictionary

  • cygnet — ► NOUN ▪ a young swan. ORIGIN Old French, from Greek kuknos swan …   English terms dictionary

  • cygnet — [sig′net, sig′nit] n. [ME cignet, dim. < Fr cygne, swan < VL cicinus < L cycnus < Gr kyknos, swan, prob. echoic (as in Russ kyki, swan s cry)] a young swan …   English World dictionary

  • Cygnet — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Sur les autres projets Wikimedia : « Cygnet », sur le Wiktionnaire (dictionnaire universel) Cygnet est le nom anglais des petits du cygne… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Cygnet — Original name in latin Cygnet Name in other language Cygnet State code AU Continent/City Australia/Hobart longitude 43.15333 latitude 147.07252 altitude 21 Population 1267 Date 2012 02 28 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • cygnet — UK [ˈsɪɡnət] / US noun [countable] Word forms cygnet : singular cygnet plural cygnets a young swan …   English dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”