mignonette

[ min-yuh-net ]

noun
  1. a plant, Reseda odorata, common in gardens, having racemes of small, fragrant, greenish-white flowers with prominent orange anthers.

  2. a grayish green resembling the color of a reseda plant.

Origin of mignonette

1
From French, dating back to 1690–1700; see origin at mignon, -ette

Words Nearby mignonette

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mignonette in a sentence

  • A delicious perfume of rosemary and mignonette filled the air from the little flower-beds.

    Maezli | Johanna Spyri
  • Your roses and mignonette, the cabbage, beans and beets, the little fountain in the corner are so charming!

    Maezli | Johanna Spyri
  • Sprinkle some finely minced herbs, mignonette pepper, and salt over them.

    Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis
  • Hyacinth (aside, Fellar talks as if the animal were a pot of mignonette).

    Frank Fairlegh | Frank E. Smedley
  • "I expect you'll enjoy being in London," she said, slowly shredding the flowers from a spray of wild mignonette.

    Plashers Mead | Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for mignonette

mignonette

/ (ˌmɪnjəˈnɛt) /


noun
  1. any of various mainly Mediterranean plants of the resedaceous genus Reseda, such as R. odorata (garden mignonette), that have spikes of small greenish-white flowers with prominent anthers

  2. a type of fine pillow lace

adjective
    • of a greyish-green colour; reseda

    • (as modifier): mignonette ribbons

Origin of mignonette

1
C18: from French, diminutive of mignon

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