# Blonde or Blond? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 2, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886 "2010-08-02T13:54:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/1 "2010-08-02T13:54:37Z")
Recently somebody stole the “e” from blonde. 😕 Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, and Doris Day were blondes. Any magazine or newspaper from the 1950’s and 60’s described them as blondes. I often misread blond for bond. No kidding. I look for that “e” as a mental cue when I read. Firefox’s spell check flags blonde. Word 2000 spellcheck accepts blonde. What spelling do you use? Blond is actually a male. Blonde is female. > [@](#): > > 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. “Blond” is an adjective that refers to the hair itself. A man can have blond hair but he is rarely a “blonde”.[1] > > Writers of English either use the spellings interchangeably or continue to distinguish between the masculine blond and the feminine blonde; and, _as such, it is one of the few adjectives in English with separate masculine and feminine forms, at least in written language._ Each of the two forms, however, is pronounced the same way. wikipedia suggests the loss of the “e” is political correctness. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > American Heritage’s Book of English Usage propounds that this particular use of the term is an example of a “sexist stereotype [in] that women are primarily defined by their physical characteristics.”[ > **[Blond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blond)** > > Blond (MASC) or blonde (FEM), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be from the very pale blond (caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment) to reddish "strawberry" blond or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond colors (the latter with more eumelanin). Occasionally, the state of being blond, and specifically the oc... Odd that they claim that blonde is sexist. No one took the “e” off brunette. 😃 > [@](#): > > People with brown hair are often referred to as _brunette, the feminine form of the diminutive form brunet_ from brun (brown/brown-haired), the masculine form. > **[Brown hair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_hair)** > > Brown hair, also referred to as brunette (when female), is the second-most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light to dark brown. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment pheomelanin. > Brown hair is common among populations in the Western world, especially among those from Northwestern Europe and the United States, as well as populations in Central Europe, Southeastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe... ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/2 "2010-08-02T14:03:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Blond is actually a male. Blonde is female. I agree. Signed blond **e** bear, who put the “e” in by mistake when he registered. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/3 "2010-08-02T14:05:17Z")
Only a true blonde would spell ‘blonde’ ‘blond.’ ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/4 "2010-08-02T14:08:36Z")
I use “blonde” for women, “blond” for men. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/5 "2010-08-02T14:13:02Z")
Blonde for women, blond for men. And sympathy for **blondebear**. 🙂 I’m sure the mods would let you lose your “E” if you asked nicely. But there’s always a possibility that you’re not even a bear, so why worry? ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/6 "2010-08-02T14:15:36Z")
Men are blond; women are blonde. Men are brunet; women are brunette. Men are ginger; women are gingere. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/7 "2010-08-02T14:19:50Z")
Until they are all old, then they are grey and greye. Or bald and balde. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/8 "2010-08-02T14:34:56Z")
I agree with **Ferret Herder** and **Celyn**. – **Sigmagirl** , blonde ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/9 "2010-08-02T14:51:58Z")
A blonde is a woman with blond hair. Men are blonds with blond hair. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/10 "2010-08-02T15:19:29Z")
I guess it’s mostly the news media that drops the “e”. It sure looks weird to me. > [@](#): > > The blond is Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet (“The Reader,” 2008) and the man she just missed on the street is her [http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/01/2010-08-01\_kate\_winslet\_manages\_to\_direct\_the\_ultimate\_dirtfree\_divorce\_from\_director\_sam\_m.html](http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/08/01/2010-08-01_kate_winslet_manages_to_direct_the_ultimate_dirtfree_divorce_from_director_sam_m.html) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/11 "2010-08-02T15:48:22Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > A blonde is a woman with blond hair. Men are blonds with blond hair. This is the way I normally use it. An engaged (heterosexual) couple might both have blond hair. In that case, her fiance is a blond, while his fiancee is a blonde. Or they might not have blond hair: he might be a brunet, and she might be a brunette. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/12 "2010-08-02T16:31:40Z")
I assume “either” means “I know the difference”? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/13 "2010-08-02T16:56:24Z")
I answered “blonde” because, until this thread, that’s how I’ve always used it. I never knew about the gender distinction. Consider my ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/14 "2010-08-02T16:58:39Z")
Not being French, I see no need to specify gender in my adjectives. No _e_. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/15 "2010-08-02T17:01:58Z")
Never, ever heard of the gender distinction in the spelling before this moment. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/16 "2010-08-02T17:12:39Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Not being French, I see no need to specify gender in my adjectives. No _e_. You’re not Roman, either, but you specify case in your pronouns. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/17 "2010-08-02T17:18:14Z")
I never knew the gender difference either. I always used blonde all my life. A few years ago I started seeing blond used in the news media and wondered why they misspelled it. Wikipedia explained the gender difference. I was surprised. The news media seems to use blond regardless of gender. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/18 "2010-08-02T17:32:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > > > Not being French, I see no need to specify gender in my adjectives. No _e_. > > You’re not Roman, either, but you specify case in your pronouns. Not always, me don’t. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/19 "2010-08-02T17:37:02Z")
A blond man. A blonde woman. One of the few adjectives in the English language that still has grammatical gender. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886/20 "2010-08-02T17:50:30Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A blond man. > A blonde woman. > > One of the few adjectives in the English language that still has grammatical gender. Is that Chicago Manual of Style? I don’t have it in front of me, so I can’t check. Associate Press Style, though, says “blond” as an adjective in both cases, but “blond” for the male noun and “blonde” for the female noun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blonde-or-blond/548886.md?page=2)