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Brown hair is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to almost black hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment pheomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as those of red hair. People with brown or black hair are often referred to as brunette, which in French is the feminine form of brunet, which is the diminutive of brun (brown, brown-haired or dark-haired).〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=TheFreeDictionary.com )〕 Brown hair is common among populations in Western world, especially among those from Central Europe, Southern Europe, United States and also some populations in Greater Middle East where it transitions smoothly into black hair. Brown hair is common among Australian Aborigines and Melanesians.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_1.htm )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2005/08/blonde-australian-aboriginals.php )〕 ==Etymology and grammar== Brunette literally means "little brown-haired girl" or "young brown-haired woman", but, in modern English usage, it has lost the diminutive meaning and usually refers to any brown or black-haired girl or woman, or the associated hair color. ''Merriam-Webster'' defines "brunet" as "a person having brown or black hair"—with which they may have "a relatively dark complexion—spelled brunet when used of a boy or man and usually brunette when used of a girl or woman".〔 Although ''brunet'' is the masculine version of the popular diminutive form used to describe a little boy or young man with brown hair, the use of brunet is uncommon in English. One is more likely to say of a man or boy, "He has brown hair" or "He is brown-haired", than to say, "He is a brunette" (or brunet). The term ''brunette'' is the feminine form of the French word ''brunet'' which is a diminutive form of ''brun'' meaning "brown/brown-haired", the feminine of which is ''brune''. All of these terms ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *''bhrūn-'' "brown, grey". The form "brun" (pronounced ) is still commonly used in Scotland, particularly in rural areas. Lighter or darker shades of brown hair may be referred to as "light brunette" or "dark brunette", though in such cases one is generally referring only to the hair color, not using the term as a metaphor for the person; one would be unlikely to say, "She is a light brunette." Rather, one would say, "She has light brown hair." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Brown hair」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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