cornrow

American

[kawrn-roh] / ˈkɔrnˌroʊ /

noun

a type of braid, originating in Africa, in which a narrow strip of hair is plaited tightly against the scalp from front to back or from side to side.
Usually cornrows. a hairstyle consisting of such braids in close parallel rows.

verb (used with object)

to arrange (hair) in cornrows.

cornrow British

/ ˈkɔːnˌrəʊ /

noun

a Black, originally African, hair-style in which the hair is plaited in close parallel rows, resembling furrows in a ploughed field

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cornrow

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; corn ¹ + row ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023