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Glite Dictionary
plumette

plumette

8.4
A small soft feather used as a decoration on clothes or hats
  • noun
  • /plʌˈmɛt/
translation icon : plumete
  • She wore a dress adorned with colorful plumettes that fluttered in the breeze.

Examples

  • The designer added a beautiful plumette to the hat to give it a more elegant look.

  • At the costume party, many attendees showcased elaborate hats with striking plumettes.

  • Plumettes!

    Strange Magic (2015)

Synonyms

panache
vsplumette
  • Archaic
1 8.9

A tall bunch of feathers worn on a helmet as decoration

is used as a small fashion ornament not a large helmet plume
frizette
vsplumette
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small decorative curl of hair worn above the ear

refers to a tiny feather ornament not a hair accessory
plume of feathers
vsplumette
3.9

A long soft feather or small group of feathers used to decorate clothing

is a much smaller decorative feather used mainly in fashion
aigrette
vsplumette
9.9

A long feather decoration worn on a hat, in hair, or as jewelry

is a smaller fashion ornament rather than an elongated natural plume

Surface Forms

plumette singular
plumettes plural

Morphology

plumette = plume (semi-transparent) = plume + ette

Formed from 'plume' + diminutive suffix '-ette'; meaning 'small plume' is predictable to learners who know 'plume' and the French-derived diminutive, but '-ette' is less productive for some learners.

Etymology

Plumette comes from the French plume ('feather') and the small ending -ette ('little'), the same root as English plume. So a plumette is literally a 'little feather', which explains why it names small decorative feathers used on hats and clothes.