mignonette

American  

[min-yuh-net] / ˌmɪn yəˈnɛt /

noun

1. a plant, Reseda odorata, common in gardens, having racemes of small, fragrant, greenish-white flowers with prominent orange anthers.

2. a grayish green resembling the color of a reseda plant.

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mignonette British  

/ ˌmɪnjəˈnɛt /

noun

1. any of various mainly Mediterranean plants of the resedaceous genus Reseda, such as R. odorata ( garden mignonette ), that have spikes of small greenish-white flowers with prominent anthers

2. a type of fine pillow lace

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adjective

1. 1. of a greyish-green colour; reseda

   2. (as modifier)

      mignonette ribbons

Etymology

Origin of mignonette

From French, dating back to 1690–1700; mignon, -ette

Example Sentences

With unadorned raw oysters or oysters and mignonette, the classics — Muscadet, Chablis and Sancerre — are all wonderful.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2021

Each one is served with freshly-grated horseradish, shallot-champagne mignonette, and lemon.

From Salon • Jul. 30, 2021

The night before our scheduled pickup, Mom diced up an old shallot we had at the bottom of the fridge and threw together a mignonette.

From Slate • May 22, 2020

He bakes them on a bed of salt and dresses them with pickled foie gras mignonette.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2017

The room faced the yard and overlooked the long, sloping garden, which was filled with flowers: bright red geraniums, sweet-smelling mignonette, and purslane with red, orange, yellow, and pink blossoms.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman