English

Noun

aigrette ‎(plural aigrettes)

1. The lesser white heron; the egret.
2. A feather or plume, or feather-shaped item, used as an adornment or ornament.
   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, III.77:

     His turban, furled in many a graceful fold, / An emerald aigrette, with Haidée's hair in't, / Surmounted as its clasp [...].

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage 2007, p. 181:

     Young women attired often in nothing more than ostrich-feather aigrettes dyed in colors of doubtful taste ran nubilely up and down the marble staircases, chased by young men in razor-toed ball shoes of patent-leather.

3. The feathery crown of some seeds (such as the dandelion)
4. (obsolete) A plume or tuft for the head composed of feathers, or gems, etc.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Prescott to this entry?)

References

• OED 2nd edition 1989

French

aigrette

Noun

aigrette f ‎(plural aigrettes)

1. egret (Any of various wading birds of the genera Egretta or Ardea)
2. pappus
3. (of certain birds) crest (plumage)
4. lumex
5. feather (atop a hat)