earlock

American  

[eer-lok] / ˈɪərˌlɒk /

noun

1. a lock of hair worn near or in front of the ear.

2. Judaism. a lock of hair worn in front of each ear by Hasidic and Yemenite Jewish males in accordance with the scriptural prohibition against clipping the hair at the temples.

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Etymology

Origin of earlock

First recorded in 1765–75; ear ¹ + lock ²

Example Sentences

The hand pulling at the earlock dropped down to the table.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

His brow was crisscrossed with wrinkles, his dark eyes brooded and burned with some kind of invisible suffering, and the fingers of his right hand played aimlessly with a long, gray earlock.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Then his right hand rose slowly to the side of his face and with his thumb and forefinger he gently caressed an imaginary earlock.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

He tugged constantly at an earlock, his eyes blinking nervously.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

“So you will listen,” he told me, playing with an earlock.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok