cygnet

Everyday

A cygnet is a young swan. tree →

In the lessons

In nature lessons and stories like «The Ugly Duckling», where the grey, clumsy bird turns out to be a cygnet that grows into a beautiful white swan. Cygnets are grey or brown and fluffy; they often ride on their parents' backs. Family words: cob (male swan), pen (female swan).

Examples

• Five grey cygnets swam behind their mother. tree →
• The ugly duckling was really a cygnet. tree →
• Cygnets sometimes ride on the swan's back. tree →
• Don't go near the cygnets — the parents will protect them fiercely. tree →
• By winter the cygnets were almost as big as their parents. tree →
• We watched the cygnets hatch on the river bank. tree →
• Suddenly Coo-my-dove changed into a goshawk and around him flew twenty-four grey herons and above them flew seven cygnets. tree →

Note

Countable. Pronounced «SIG-nit». Homophone: signet (a signet ring, with a seal on it). Swan family: cob (male), pen (female), cygnet (young).