charlotte

plural charlottes

1. A dessert consisting of sponge cake filled with fruit, and cream or custard.

   A charlotte consists of a mold lined with buttered bread, filled with a fruit mixture and baked. […] A savory charlotte, also made with a bread lining, is an excellent way to dress up ratatouille, especially if picked up from a catering shop.

   1995 November 26, Florence Fabricant, “Sweet Charlottes for Dessert”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

1. A female given name from French.

   'Can I call you Charlotte?' 'No. I hate the name, makes me sound like a Victorian aunt. I'm Charlie, and no, you can't call me that either.'

   2007, Sophie Hannah, Hurting Distance, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 225

   2 more examples

   My Charlotte conquers with a smile, / And reigneth queen of love. In the home-circle and among her companions, Charlotte lays aside her queenship and becomes a gentle Lottie.

   1852 August, D. H. Jacques, “A Chapter on Names”, in The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, volume XL, page 117

   "Here's Totty! By-and-by, what's her other name? She wasn't christened Totty." "Oh, sir, we call her sadly out of name. Charlotte's her christened name. It's a name i' Mr. Poyser's family; his grandmother was named Charlotte. But we began calling her Lotty, and now it's got to Totty. To be sure it's more like a name for a dog than a Christian child."

   1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter VII, in Adam Bede […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC

2. Numerous places:
   1. A civil parish of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.First known use 1765
   2. A parish of Saint Vincent, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; in full, Charlotte Parish. Capital: Georgetown.
   3. A city, the county seat of Eaton County, Michigan.
   4. A city, the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

      Local, state and national Republicans have accused Lyles and other Democrats who lead Charlotte of installing criminal justice policies at the expense of public safety.

      2025 September 10, Holly Yan, Jeff Winter, “Suspect in Charlotte train stabbing that killed a Ukrainian refugee is charged with a federal crime. Here’s what we know”, in CNN

      1 more example

      The past three decades have been a roller-coaster ride for the Charlotte, N.C., company, aiming to keep investors on a sugar high as it works out how to expand while remaining true to its heritage of serving fresh doughnuts.

      2025 August 25, Julie Creswell, “Krispy Kreme Bets on Big-Box Stores to Stay Fresh”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2025

   5. A town, the county seat of Dickson County, Tennessee.
   6. A town in Chittenden County, Vermont, named after Queen Charlotte.

plural Charlottes

1. attributivehistoricaloftenA type of women's bonnet popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

   The Charlotte bonnet, form'd to please, / And Strelitz coif she wore with ease.

   1764 Sep, The Scots Magazine

   2 more examples

   the Charlotte bonnet, from the Sorrows of Werther, was the most becoming and elegantly retired bonnet ever yet sported for walking.

   1819 Apr, La Belle Assemblée

   Women now resembled well-rounded cabbages from which protruded a tiny head crushed beneath a Charlotte hat covered with plumes and gew-gaws.

   1968, Gisèle d'Assailly, Ages of Elegance