pomade
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of pomade
1555–65; earlier pommade < French < Italian pomata (so called because apples were originally an ingredient), equivalent to pom ( a ) apple (< Latin, plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of pōmum fruit) + -ata -ade 1. See pomatum
Explanation
Pomade is a greasy kind of styling product for your hair. Are your curls a mess? You might want to apply some pomade to tidy them up. Now mostly thought of as old-fashioned, pomade is still around and used by those who want a slicked-back or wet-look hairdo. Unlike modern hair products such as spray, gel, and mousse, pomade doesn't dry. You can even keep pomade in your hair through several washings, because it's so waxy. The word itself comes from the Italian word for "apple," pomo, thanks to the inclusion of mashed apples in the original pomade recipe.
Vocabulary lists containing pomade
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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The Color Purple
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"St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Decoder Ring producer Benjamin Frisch wrote of the Black & White Pluko Pomade, “It has the right amount of hold and shine and, as my barber says, ‘smells the best.’
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2020
Surrounded by a bunch of fingerless gloves and rusting pocket knives was a container of Black & White Genuine Pluko Hair Dressing Pomade.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2018
It turns out Black & White Genuine Pluko Hair Dressing Pomade is a very common product, at least in the U.K., and is by far the most economical pomade I’ve seen.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2018
Candy stuck in clumps in his coat pocket along with a tin of Frieda’s Egyptian Hair Pomade.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
He perceived also the open pot of "Butler's Own Special Pomade," but the planisphere had been removed from it.
From The Prophet of Berkeley Square by Hichens, Robert Smythe
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
