cygnet

From Middle English cignet, signet, from Anglo-Norman cignet, diminutive of Old French cigne (“swan”), from Latin cygnus, cycnus (“swan”), from Ancient Greek κύκνος (kúknos, “swan”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɡ.nət/

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cygnet (plural cygnets)

1. The young of a swan.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, King John:

     I am the cygnet to this pale faint swan,
     Who chants a doleful hymn to his own death,
     And from the organ-pipe of frailty sings
     His soul and body to their lasting rest.

• swanling (neologism)