Noisette
/nwɑːˈzɛt/noun
A hazelnut or a flavor, color, or preparation resembling hazelnut.
Did you know?French noisette became a culinary and artistic color term because roasted hazelnuts suggested a warm brown shade, linking the word to both taste and visual enchantment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*knewk-
“Nut or fruit with a hard shell”
Classical Latin
Latin
nux
“Nut, especially a walnut or other hard-shelled fruit”
Medieval Latin
Latin
nucella
“Small nut; a diminutive form related to nux”
Old French
Old French
nois
“Nut, descended from Latin nux through its oblique forms”
12th–13th Century
French
noisette
“Little nut; a diminutive of nois”
19th Century
English
noisette
“A borrowed French term for hazelnut, hazelnut flavor, or a warm hazel-brown color”