circlet
Americannoun
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a small circle.
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a ring.
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a ring-shaped ornament, especially for the head.
noun
Etymology
Origin of circlet
1475–85; circle + -et; replacing late Middle English serclett < Middle French
Explanation
Use the noun circlet to describe something that's shaped like a little circle. You might shape a circlet of greens to hang on your door as a wreath. Circlet is an old-fashioned word for a small circle. You could talk about a bride putting a circlet of gold on her groom's finger, or describe a doughnut as a circlet of sweet dough fried in hot oil. Classically, a circlet referred to a crown — a circle made of fine metal and jewels. The Latin root, circus, means "ring," and the French cerclet came later, to mean a smaller ring or circle.
Vocabulary lists containing circlet
Coraline
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 3
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The Silver Chair
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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.
The King, in a light summer suit, spoke a few quiet words of welcome, wearing a circlet of feathers and a scarf that had been draped ceremonially around his shoulders.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
The first English king shown on a coin wearing a crown or circlet was Athelstan, who died in 939, according to the Royal Household website.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2022
“The Shaun Leane crown of thorns he thought might be tricky,” Mr. Bolton said, referring to the silver circlet that the London jewelry designer made for Alexander McQueen’s fall 1996 show.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2018
Finally the exasperated Newport pushed down on Powhatan’s shoulders and forced him to stoop low enough to get the circlet on his head.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 18, 2018
Khione’s eyes turned as hard as the diamonds in her circlet.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
