Blond or Blonde?

It sounds like a joke, but it's actually a legitimate question: How do you spell “blond"?

‘Blond’ Versus ‘Blonde’

The word originally came into English from Old 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 men or women, especially in the United States; however, "blonde" can also be used to describe a woman with fair hair, as in “Go ask the blonde woman at table 2 if she wants pepper on her salad.”

A blond is a fair-haired male, and a blonde is a fair-haired female.

Is ‘Blonde’ Sexist?

Some people think it is sexist to use “blonde” to refer to women, but the AP stylebook currently says to maintain the distinction between the two gendered forms of the word if you use it, and The Chicago Manual of Style also seems to uphold the difference. It doesn’t say so explicitly, but it uses the E-form for women in some example sentences. 

Still, it may be perceived as especially sexist when you refer to a woman simply as “a blonde” or “the blonde,” as in “The blonde got in line to check out a book.” Garner’s Modern English Usage says that for this reason, it’s usually best to avoid using “blonde” (and “blond”) as a stand-alone noun.

Inanimate Objects

Most of the time, inanimate objects are treated as male. For example, if you have a blond wooden dresser, “blond” is spelled without the E. A recent exception though is that Starbucks uses the feminine form for its blonde roast coffee. Maybe the marketing people believe we’ll love it more if we think of it as a woman or as female.

How to Use ‘Blond’ and ‘Blonde’

1. Avoid using “...

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