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definitions

ringlet

[ring-lit]
See more synonyms for ringlet on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a curled lock of hair.
  2. a small ring or circle.
  3. Astronomy. one of the thin or narrow rings that compose the major rings of Saturn.

Origin of ringlet

First recorded in 1545–55; ring1 + -let
Related formsring·let·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ringlet

hair, lock, curl, tress

Examples from the Web for ringlet

Historical Examples of ringlet

  • She admitted the truth, with eyes dwelling on him, until a ringlet got displaced.

  • It is her boast that no man, save Carmelo, has ever touched so much as a ringlet of her hair.

    Vendetta

    Marie Corelli

  • From this he removed a ringlet of black hair, probably a love-lock of Ellen's.

    The Incendiary

    W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy

  • Impatiently Penny brushed a ringlet of golden hair from her eyes.

    The Secret Pact

    Mildred A. Wirt

  • Is our modern usage of "ringlet" found before the time of Milton?

British Dictionary definitions for ringlet

ringlet

noun
  1. a lock of hair hanging down in a spiral curl
  2. any of numerous butterflies of the genus Erebia, most of which occur in S Europe and have dark brown wings marked with small black-and-white eyespots: family Satyridae
Derived Formsringleted, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ringlet
n.

1550s, from ring (n.1) + diminutive suffix -let. Of hair, since 1660s. Related: Ringleted.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper