curlycue

[kur-li-kyoo]

noun

curlicue.

curlicue

or cur·ly·cue

[kur-li-kyoo]

noun

an ornamental, fancy curl or twist, as in a signature.

Origin of curlicue

First recorded in 1835–45; curly + cue²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for curly-cue

curlicue

noun

an intricate ornamental curl or twist

Word Origin for curlicue

C19: from curly + cue ²

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

Word Origin and History for curly-cue

curlicue

1843, American English, from curly + cue, perhaps from French queue "tail" or letter Q in its looping script form. Earlier in this sense was curlie-wurlie (1772).