Standard Lemma guide

flaxen

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈflæk.sən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æksən

1

adj

Meaning 1

Made of or resembling flax fibers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

A pale yellow brown as of dried flax; blonde.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The couple and their children have flaxen hair.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • flaxen locks

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sandy

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English flaxen, flexon, flexin, from Old English fleaxen (“of flax; flaxen”), equivalent to flax + -en (“made of”). Compare Dutch vlassen.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ленен (lenen) — material
  • Danish: hørfarvet — material
  • Dutch: vlassen — material
  • Finnish: pellavainen — material
  • German: flachsen — material
  • Ingrian: pellovain — material
  • Japanese: 亜麻製の (amasei no) — material
  • Latin: līneus — material
  • Middle English: flaxen — material
  • Polish: lniany — material
  • Russian: льняно́й (lʹnjanój) — material
  • Russian: льно́вый (lʹnóvyj) — material
  • Bulgarian: светложълт (svetložǎlt) — color
  • Chinese Mandarin: 亚麻色 — color
  • Dutch: vlasblond — color
  • Finnish: pellavan värinen — color
  • French: de lin — color
  • German: flachsfarben — color
  • Hungarian: lenszőke — color
  • Irish: buíbhán — color
  • Irish: fionn — color
  • Japanese: 亜麻色の (amairo no) — color
  • Latin: flāvus — color
  • Māori: kōrito — color
  • Polish: lniany — color
  • Polish: jasnobrązowy — color
  • Portuguese: cor de linho — color
  • Swedish: lingul — color
  • Ottoman Turkish: صاری (sarı) — color