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Lunette, a word borrowed from French, looks like it should mean "little moon"—luna being Latin for "moon" and -ette being a diminutive suffix. There is indeed some 17th-century evidence of the word being used for a small celestial moon, but that meaning is now obsolete. Earlier, in the 16th century, lunette referred to a horseshoe having only the front semicircular part—a meaning that still exists but is quite rare. Other senses of lunette that are infrequently used nowadays include "a blinder especially for a vicious horse" and, in the plural form, "spectacles." (Lunettes is the usual term for eyeglasses in modern French.) The oldest meaning of lunette still in common use is "something shaped like a crescent or half-moon," which our evidence dates to the early 1600s.
Examples of lunette in a Sentence
Sarah Belmont For Artnews, Robb Report, 5 July 2023
Preliminary plans for an outdoor exhibit replicating the 1836 main gate/lunette of the Alamo are in production, with plans to be presented to the commission in time for a public opening by the end of 2022.
—Scott Huddleston, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Feb. 2022
The sand kicked up by the sheep began to scarify one lunette, stripping the native vegetation that bound it together.
—David Maurice Smith, Smithsonian, 23 Aug. 2019
For less eccentricity and fancier pastries, such as almond kouign-amanns, hazelnut lunettes and Earl Grey scones, hit Le Petit Outre.
—Dina Mishev, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2019
Along the walls of the arcade are 26 lunettes with symbolical designs and subjects such as Agriculture, Art, Justice, Knowledge, Music, Navigation, Peace and Thrift.
—Dan Austin, Detroit Free Press, 1 Sep. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Lunette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunette. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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