cygnet
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does cygnet mean? A cygnet is a young swan. The word cygnet is a general term for a young swan that’s used in the same way that the word duckling is used to refer to a young duck or the word gosling is used to refer to a young goose. There are several different kinds of swans, including the mute swan, trumpeter swan, tundra swan, and whooper swan. The young of any swan species can be called cygnets. Example: The ugly duckling in the fairy tale was actually a cygnet—ducklings don’t turn into swans, you know.
Etymology
Origin of cygnet
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English signet, from Latin cygnus, variant of cycnus, from Greek kýknos “swan”; see -et
Explanation
Before they become graceful adults covered in their signature white feathers, swans start out as fluffy gray chicks called cygnets. When they hatch, cygnets are covered in soft, gray feathers, and rely heavily on their parents to protect them and teach them how to swim and find food. As they grow, they shed their downy feathers and develop the sleek, white plumage that swans are famous for. Considering this, it comes as no surprise that in literature cygnets often symbolize the adorably awkward period of childhood and adolescence that comes before maturity.
Vocabulary lists containing cygnet
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.
Even as Cygnet prepares to open the Joan, fundraising continues — about 14% of the $43.5-million budget remains to be raised.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025
The hospital, run by Cygnet Health Care Limited, has changed its use since the inspection and now only provides services to adult male patients.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2025
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, has a “very weak image with voters” according to a new Cygnet poll of 500 Alaska voters likely to vote in the 2022 midterm election.
From Washington Times • Apr. 5, 2021
James Brown, a third-generation pearl farmer who runs Cygnet Bay Pearls, a small Australian producer, recently began to bypass wholesalers and target wealthy jewelry buyers directly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2016
Among them were several of the officers, one of whom was supercargo on board the Cygnet, and who had written the history of his adventures.
From Notable Voyagers From Columbus to Nordenskiold by Kingston, William Henry Giles
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.
