BLOND chapter I

Blond or blonde, 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), the RGB color value is typically #FAF0BE (250,240,190).

Blond or Blonde

Etymology, spelling, and grammar

The word "blond" is first attested in English in 1481 and derives from Old French blund, blont meaning "a colour midway between golden and light chestnut". It gradually eclipsed the native term "fair", of same meaning, from Old English fæġer, to become the general term for "light complexioned". 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.

Brad Pitt Cannes 2012

British actor Daniel Craig
named as the first blond Bond

"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 [whereby] 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). Particularly this had associations with Friedrich Nietzsche's Übermensch. 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. 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." 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". "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."

"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 song

Hello My Name Is... is the debut studio album by American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter Bridgit Mendler (born December 18, 1992) released on October 22, 2012, through Hollywood Records. The first single of the album, "Ready or Not", was released on August 7, 2012. It premiered on August 3, 2012, and was released as a digital download on August 7, 2012. The song was written by Mendler herself, Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou and Evan "Kidd" Bogart. The song debuted at number 98 and peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was later certified Gold in Canada and Platinum in New Zealand. She has used three more songs to promote her album: "Hurricane"; which is the official second single off of the album, "Forgot to Laugh" and "Top of the World".

The album has received generally positive reviews from music critics.

The song "Blonde" is a little clichéd but ends up as a convincing argument that hair color isn't a gauge of brains.

Blonde lyrics

Hey, I think you got my number

 When I was out with my brother

 You said 'hi' and I think I liked you

 Oh we talked about maybe getting together

 A raincheck on the weather

 Cloudy skies and I had to get home

 Oh those eyes

 I thought you were a really nice guy

 I thought you were just my type

 But I forgot your name

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Hey I'm not a college grad yet

 There are some books I haven't read yet

 But I could quote

 A little bit of shakespeare in my sleep

 But there have been those times

 When I've clearly forgotten

 How to spell words like R-E-E-D-I-N-G

 Me, me and myself

 And I try really hard to get by

 With simple little things

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh 'cause I'm a blonde

 Maybe if I cared enough to dye my hair

 Then you'd take me serious

 Maybe I could try to change up their minds

 So they take me serious

 Oohh so they know

 Everybody knows that I'm not dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)