Talk:brunette
In English, this can mean a woman or a man with brown hair, although in French it properly means a woman with brown hair only. This is one of the consequences of English no longer possessing grammatical gender, as do French and Polish. --4.64.151.233 23:20, 15 Feb 2005 (UTC)
- Even in English it's extremely rare that a man is said to be a brunette; normally a man is simply said to have brown/dark brown/black hair. I've occasionally seen the French masculine form brunet used of men in English, but that's really rare too. It's different with blond(e); it's completely normal for men to be called blond. --Angr 17:19, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)
RFV[edit]
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Our first sense, which I find in other dictionaries too, is "a girl or woman with brown or black hair." The second, challenged sense is: "A white brunette with dark eyes and a relatively dark or olive complexion." Equinox ◑ 12:12, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- Whoa, no, I can see what they're getting at. It's a bit pointless to refer to black or Asian women being brunettes as they all have brown hair (naturally I mean) so the distinction is more meaningful when talking about white women. But of course brunettes don't necessarily have brown eyes. Most commonly, sure, but it's not a factual thing. Mglovesfun (talk) 17:02, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- Then perhaps we should remove this sense and add a usage note about how the term is not generally used for dark-skinned people. Equinox ◑ 17:04, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- Don't people of African, South/Southeast/East Asian, and Native American ancestry generally have black hair, not brown hair? Is brunette used of black-haired women as well as brown-haired women? —Angr 18:04, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- I don't think so. My wife is Chinese, and her hair is naturally dark brown, not black. It's not terribly common, but it's not terribly rare either. On the other hand, I agree that this dichotomy of usage can be addressed through a usage note. bd2412 T 21:12, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- I'll vote for usage notes too then. Mglovesfun (talk) 23:00, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- I don't think so. My wife is Chinese, and her hair is naturally dark brown, not black. It's not terribly common, but it's not terribly rare either. On the other hand, I agree that this dichotomy of usage can be addressed through a usage note. bd2412 T 21:12, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- Don't people of African, South/Southeast/East Asian, and Native American ancestry generally have black hair, not brown hair? Is brunette used of black-haired women as well as brown-haired women? —Angr 18:04, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
- Then perhaps we should remove this sense and add a usage note about how the term is not generally used for dark-skinned people. Equinox ◑ 17:04, 7 November 2012 (UTC)
Sense removed by anonip. Striking.—msh210℠ (talk) 17:05, 24 January 2013 (UTC)
often, dark eyes and darkish or olive skin[edit]
That's simply not true and not part of the definition of a brunette. --94.134.89.7 03:58, 1 June 2019 (UTC)