forelock
1 Americannoun
-
the lock of hair that grows from the fore part of the head.
-
(of a horse) a tuft of hair above or on the forehead.
noun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a lock of hair growing or falling over the forehead
-
a lock of a horse's mane that grows forwards between the ears
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of forelock1
1640–50; fore- + lock 2; probably not continuous with Old English foreloccas (plural), attested once
Origin of forelock2
First recorded in 1275–1325, forelock is from the Middle English word forelok. See fore-, lock 1
Explanation
The part of a horse's mane that falls across the front of its face like bangs is called a forelock. It's also an old fashioned way to describe a person's bangs. Forelock comes from the Old English forelocca, from fore, "before in position," and locc, "curl or lock of hair." It originally meant simply "a lock of hair above the forehead," and in the 1800s, men commonly greeted each other by "tugging the forelock." Today people are likely to assume you're talking about a horse if you use the word forelock.
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.
Shapovalov, a big-hitting, left-handed Canadian with a blond forelock that flops over his white bandanna, was in his first Grand Slam semifinal.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2021
With his delicate features, brimming eyes and sashaying forelock, DiCaprio was born to play romantic youth of Romeo's fetching ilk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2016
He would have tugged a forelock if he had one.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 14, 2016
She looks the part, too: a Dolce & Gabbana-ed woman of a certain age, perfectly at ease, regularly brushing back a forelock of honey-blond hair with her fingers.
From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2015
Whitey had done his best to clean Seabiscuit up, braiding his mane, forelock, and tail, but the mane plaits didn’t lie right and stuck out like quills.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
