by Mignon Fogarty
It sounds like a joke, but it's actually a legitimate question: How do you spell "blond"?
The word comes to English from French, where it has masculine and feminine forms. As an English noun, it kept those two forms; thus, a blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a fair-haired female.
When you're using the word as an adjective, "blond" is the more common spelling and can be used for males or females; however, "blonde" can also be used to describe a woman or girl with fair hair.
It looks as if the Starbucks marketing people believe we will love their new roast more if we think of it as a woman:
Here are three examples of how the different spellings are commonly used:
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The blonde was delighted when Squiggly presented her with a dictionary. (female noun)
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The blond wondered if he should use hair gel. (male noun)
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The blond mannequin looked horrible in the orange sweater. (adjective)
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