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Brown hair is characterised by very high levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and lower levels of the pale pigment phaeomelanin. Its strands are thicker than those of fair hair but not as much as those of red hair.
Brunette is the feminine of French brunet, which is a diminutive of brun, brune, meaning brown or dark-haired, ultimately from Latin brunus (brown). It therefore means "little dark-haired girl", but in English usage it has largely lost the diminutive meaning, and simply refers to any dark-haired girl or woman (which is simply brune in French). Brunette in common usage refers to dark-brown or black hair, especially dark brown hair. It describes a woman or girl having dark or relatively dark hair. Some people disagree over whether light brown or black hair counts as brunette, though the use of the term to cover a wide range of non-blonde and non-red shades of hair is fairly widespread. Some people use the word brunet(te) to simply refer to having brown hair. Women with lighter shades of brown hair may actually be referred to as "light brunettes". The term generally refers to Caucasians rather than those from races who virtually always have dark hair. For genetic reasons, a brunette often has dark eyes with a relatively dark or olive complexion, but can also be light skinned with light eyes. A really light shade of brown may actually be referred to as "blond(e)". Also, a light or pale yellowish brown is considered blond and what is considered "light brown" can sometimes be considered "blond(e)".
Only the feminine form has become part of English: brunet (with a silent t) would theoretically refer to a dark-haired boy or man but is virtually never used in practice, nor in French, although "Brunet" is a common surname. A boy or man is often referred to as dark-haired, rather than as a brunet.
See also
"Brown hair"