chignon
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chignon
1775–85; < French: nape, roll of hair at nape, blend of Middle French chaignon (variant of chainon link, equivalent to chaine chain + -on noun suffix) and tignon twist of hair ( tigne (< Latin tinea worm) + -on noun suffix)
Explanation
A chignon is a sleek, elegant hairdo that's similar to a bun. A ballerina might pull her hair back into a chignon. Many formal events, like weddings and proms, call for fancy hair styles — a classic one is the chignon. While a bun may be high on the head, a chignon is almost always coiled smoothly at the nape of the neck. In fact, the French word chignon literally means "nape of the neck," from the Old French chaignon, "iron collar or noose," which has a Latin root, catena, "chain or restraint."
Vocabulary lists containing chignon
Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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English Words Derived from French, List 10
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Anna Karenina
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ms Ardern wore a fitted ivory dress by designer Juliette Hogan - who is reportedly a close friend of the ex-PM - and a long veil clipped onto a chignon up-do hairstyle.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024
Her blond hair was usually ironed straight or pulled back into a messy chignon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
“Behind the undone chignon, the back of Donald Trump is covered in white lank,” the machine wrote.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021
The scar is shaped like a spiral, a snail, which is a direct homage to Madeleine's chignon in "Vertigo," which is also shaped like a snail.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2021
Her hair was pinned up as usual, but not in the signature French chignon twist she’d been wearing when Maddie had left her last night.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
The rest of society is a blend of every skin tone and ethnicity: neoclassical ringlets and jewel-adorned chignons mingle with powdered Afros and flowing dreadlocks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2020
Among the few notable things about this year’s Golden Globes was that so many women dispensed with long curling-ironed hair or chignons or whatever other frippery and just chopped it.
From New York Times ● Jan. 8, 2019
It’s always refreshing to see texture on the red carpet, and artfully mussed hair was everywhere—appearing in messy chignons and windswept waves alike.
From Forbes ● Aug. 26, 2014
The herd that gathered in the 19th arrondissement were as elegant as their surroundings, all tailored jackets, chignons and pointed leather boots.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 8, 2012
They wore jewelry made of shell and swans’-down earrings and chignons spiked with eagle feathers.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
