mane

American  

[meyn] / meɪn /

noun

1. the long hair growing on the back of or around the neck and neighboring parts of some animals, as the horse or lion.

2. Informal. (on a human being) a head of distinctively long and thick or rough hair.

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mane British  

/ meɪn /

noun

1. the long coarse hair that grows from the crest of the neck in such mammals as the lion and horse

2. long thick human hair

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• maneless
  adjective
• maned
  adjective
• unmaned
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mane

before 900; Middle English; Old English manu; cognate with German Mähne, Dutch manen, Old Norse mǫn

Explanation

Use the noun mane when you talk about an animal's ruff of neck hair. A male lion's mane can be very fluffy and dramatic. A mane is a patch or growth of long hair, whether it's found on a lion or down the neck of a pony, or even on a human's head. You might stroke a horse's mane while sitting on its back, or you could compliment your friend on her beautiful mane of long blonde hair. The Old English root is manu, which comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, mon, which means "neck" or "nape of the neck."

Related Words

• eyebrow
• fiber
• fur
• grass
• haircut
• hairstyle
• sideburn
• strand
• wig
• wool