The original Ugly Duckling: cygnets are brownish (as opposed to white) funny-looking nascient swans. Lose their color in the second year. Oh, yes, the word sounds like "signet", not 'syn-yet'.
Cyg"net (s?g"n?t), n. [Dim. of F. cygne swan, L. cycnus. cygnus, fr. Gr. : but F. cugne seems to be an etymological spelling of OF. cisne, fr. LL. cecinus, cicinus, perh. ultimately also fr. Gr. .] Zool.
A young swan.
© Webster 1913.
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