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Blond or blonde (see below), or fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color. The color can be from the very pale blond (caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment) to reddish "strawberry" blond colors or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond colors (the latter with more eumelanin). On the Fischer–Saller scale blond color ranges from A to J (blond brown). ==Etymology, spelling, and grammar== The word "blond" is first attested in English in 1481〔"blonde|blond, adj. and n.". ''OED Online.'' March 2012. ''Oxford University Press.'' Web. 17 May 2012.〕 and derives from Old French ''blund, blont'' meaning "a colour midway between golden and light chestnut".〔Harper, Douglas. "Blond (Adj.)." ''Online Etymology Dictionary.'' (Web. ) 17 May 2012.〕 It gradually eclipsed the native term "fair", of same meaning, from Old English ''fæġer'', causing "fair" later to become a general term for "light complexioned". This earlier use of "fair" survives in the proper name Fairfax, from Old English ''fæġer-feahs'' meaning "blond hair". The French (and thus also the English) word "blond" has two possible origins. Some linguists say it comes from Medieval Latin ''blundus'', meaning "yellow", from Old Frankish ''blund'' which would relate it to Old English ''blonden-feax'' meaning "grey-haired", from ''blondan/blandan'' meaning "to mix" (Cf. ''blend''). Also, Old English ''beblonden'' meant "dyed" as ancient Germanic warriors were noted for dying their hair. However, linguists who favor a Latin origin for the word say that Medieval Latin ''blundus'' was a vulgar pronunciation of Latin ''flavus'', also meaning ''yellow''. Most authorities, especially French, attest the Frankish origin. The word was reintroduced into English in the 17th century from French, and was for some time considered French; in French, "blonde" is a feminine ''adjective''; it describes a woman with blond hair.〔(Origin of "blonde" ), from Online Etymology Dictionary.〕 "Blond", with its continued gender-varied usage, is one of few adjectives in written English to retain separate masculine and feminine grammatical genders. Each of the two forms, however, is pronounced identically. American Heritage's ''Book of English Usage'' propounds that, insofar as "a blonde" can be used to describe a woman but not a man who is merely said to possess blond(e) hair, the term is an example of a "sexist stereotype () women are primarily defined by their physical characteristics." The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') records that the phrase "big blond beast" was used in the 20th century to refer specifically ''to men'' "of the Nordic type" (that is to say, blond-haired).〔"(blonde, blond, a. and n." ) ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. 2nd ed. 1989. ''OED Online''. Oxford University Press. 5 Aug. 2010.〕 The ''OED'' also records that blond as an adjective is especially used with reference to women, in which case it is likely to be spelt "blonde", citing three Victorian usages of the term. The masculine version is used to describe a plural, in "blonds of the European race",〔 in a citation from 1833 ''Penny cyclopedia'', which distinguishes genuine blondness as a Caucasian feature distinct from albinism.〔''Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge'', s.v. Albinos. Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain, 1833).〕 By the early 1990s, "blonde moment" or being a "dumb blonde" had come into common parlance to mean "an instance of a person, esp. a woman... being foolish or scatter-brained."〔("blonde, blond, a. and n." ) ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. June 2006 (editions ). ''OED Online''. Oxford University Press. 5 Aug. 2010〕 Another hair color word of French origin, ''brunet(te)'' (from the same Germanic root that gave "brown"), also functions in the same way in orthodox English. The ''OED'' gives "brunet" as meaning "dark-complexioned" or a "dark-complexioned person", citing a comparative usage of ''brunet'' and ''blond'' to Thomas Henry Huxley in saying, "The present contrast of blonds and brunets existed among them".〔("brunet, a. and n." ) ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. June 2006 (editions ). ''OED Online''. Oxford University Press. 5 Aug. 2010〕 "Brunette" can be used, however, like "blonde", to describe a mixed-gender populace. The ''OED'' quotes Grant Allen, "The nation which resulted... being sometimes blonde, sometimes brunette."〔("brunette, n. and a." ) ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. June 2006 (editions ). ''OED Online''. Oxford University Press. 5 Aug. 2010.〕 "Blond" and "blonde" are also occasionally used to refer to objects that have a color reminiscent of fair hair. Examples include pale wood and lager beer. For example, the ''OED'' records its use in 19th century poetic diction to describe flowers, "a variety of clay ironstone of the coal measures", "the colour of raw silk",〔 and a breed of ray.〔("blonde, blond, a. and n." ) ''The Oxford English Dictionary''. Additions Series 1997. ''OED Online''. Oxford University Press. 5 Aug. 2010.〕 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「blond」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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