RINGLET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ringlet mean? 

• RINGLET (noun)
  The noun RINGLET has 4 senses:

1. a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)

2. a strand or cluster of hair

3. a small ring

4. any of various butterflies belonging to the family Satyridae

  Familiarity information: RINGLET used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RINGLET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

coil; curl; curlicue; gyre; ringlet; roll; scroll; whorl

Hypernyms ("ringlet" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ringlet"):

corolla ((botany) the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer of the perianth)

calyx ((botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green)

verticil (a whorl of leaves growing around a stem)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A strand or cluster of hair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

curl; lock; ringlet; whorl

Hypernyms ("ringlet" is a kind of...):

hair (a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ringlet"):

sausage curl (a fat sausage-shaped curl)

forelock (a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead)

crimp (a lock of hair that has been artificially waved or curled)

dreadlock (one of many long thin braids of hair radiating from the scalp; popularized by Rastafarians)

Holonyms ("ringlet" is a part of...):

coif; coiffure; hair style; hairdo; hairstyle (the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair))

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small ring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("ringlet" is a kind of...):

band; ring (jewelry consisting of a circlet of precious metal (often set with jewels) worn on the finger)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any of various butterflies belonging to the family Satyridae

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

ringlet; ringlet butterfly

Hypernyms ("ringlet" is a kind of...):

butterfly (diurnal insect typically having a slender body with knobbed antennae and broad colorful wings)

Holonyms ("ringlet" is a member of...):

family Satyridae; Satyridae (a widely distributed family of butterflies common near the edges of woods)

 Context examples 

However, if rings are temporary, perhaps we just missed out on seeing giant ring systems of Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, which have only thin ringlets today!

(Saturn is Losing Its Rings, NASA)

Her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"There, now I'll take off the papers and you'll see a cloud of little ringlets," said Jo, putting down the tongs.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Her purple riding-habit almost swept the ground, her veil streamed long on the breeze; mingling with its transparent folds, and gleaming through them, shone rich raven ringlets.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

So we got on, until she was able to smile, and then to laugh, and then to sit up, half ashamed; while Peggotty recalled her stray ringlets, dried her eyes, and made her neat again, lest her uncle should wonder, when she got home, why his darling had been crying.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

At every jump too, Hands appeared still more to sink into himself and settle down upon the deck, his feet sliding ever the farther out, and the whole body canting towards the stern, so that his face became, little by little, hid from me; and at last I could see nothing beyond his ear and the frayed ringlet of one whisker.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The noble bust, the sloping shoulders, the graceful neck, the dark eyes and black ringlets were all there;—but her face?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She did take off the papers, but no cloud of ringlets appeared, for the hair came with the papers, and the horrified hairdresser laid a row of little scorched bundles on the bureau before her victim.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I saw, besides, many old sailors, with rings in their ears, and whiskers curled in ringlets, and tarry pigtails, and their swaggering, clumsy sea-walk; and if I had seen as many kings or archbishops I could not have been more delighted.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Afterwards, take a piece of smooth ivory—you have one prepared in your drawing-box: take your palette, mix your freshest, finest, clearest tints; choose your most delicate camel-hair pencils; delineate carefully the loveliest face you can imagine; paint it in your softest shades and sweetest lines, according to the description given by Mrs. Fairfax of Blanche Ingram; remember the raven ringlets, the oriental eye;—What! you revert to Mr. Rochester as a model!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)