periwig
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of periwig
1520–30; earlier perwyke, alteration of Middle French perruque peruke
Vocabulary lists containing periwig
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.
Men in the 17th century wore the "periwig" - long, voluminous artificial curls - to denote wealth and high social status.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
The cumbersome, bottom-heavy periwig, with its almost waist-length expanse of curls, has long since given way to a proliferation of shorter, more comfortable styles.
From Time Magazine Archive
For Every Day's A Holiday Paramount made a determined effort to de-umph Mae West by vacuum-cleaning the script, disguising Mae in a fantastic black French periwig.
From Time Magazine Archive
As such he must wear periwig and gown at all meetings of Parliament, listen to debates, rule tactfully on parliamentary procedure.
From Time Magazine Archive
His hat was of the Quaker pattern, and his head did not fail of the periwig and the pigtail, the latter being heretical in name only.
From The King of Schnorrers Grotesques and Fantasies by Israel Zangwill
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
