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Mignon

//mɪnˈjɑn// adj, name, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Small and cute; pretty in a delicate way; dainty.

    ""Will you not wear these to-morrow?" said the King, offering one pair to Madame de Merœur; then, turning to her sister, he added, "I only hope yours are small enough for those mignon hands.""

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A left tributary of the Sèvre Niortaise in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
  2. 2
    A female given name from French.

    "'Yes,' said Mignon, and stretched out her hand for it, but they would not let her take it back."

  3. 3
    A surname from French.
Noun
  1. 1
    A cute or pretty person; a dandy; a pretty child. obsolete, rare

    "“I wish the blow he dealt to that fine essenced mignon had beat his brains out.”"

  2. 2
    One of the court favourites of Henry III of France. historical

    "When the mignons, barefoot and clad in sacks with holes for their heads and feet, marched with Henry in a penitential procession, lashing their backs, one wit opined that they should have aimed their blows lower."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From French mignon, from Middle French mignon (“lover, darling, favourite”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnjo (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men-, *mnā- (“to think”). Cognate with Old High German minnja (“love, care, affection, desire, memory”), Old Saxon minnea (“love”). More at mind. Compare Dutch minnen (“to love”). Doublet of minion.

Etymology 2

From French mignon, from Middle French mignon (“lover, darling, favourite”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnjo (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minþijō, *mindijō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men-, *mnā- (“to think”). Cognate with Old High German minnja (“love, care, affection, desire, memory”), Old Saxon minnea (“love”). More at mind. Compare Dutch minnen (“to love”). Doublet of minion.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French Mignon. * (surname): Occasionally of Walloon origin.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from French Mignon. * (surname): Occasionally of Walloon origin.

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