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Etymology and origin of the English word wig

Pronunciation

wig1 bun, small cake

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1376
Borrowed from
Middle Low German wigge via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Middle Low German wigge

Etymology

The bun is inherited from Middle English wigge,[2][3] borrowed from Middle Low German wigge (“wedge, wedge-shaped cake”) or wigge,[4][2][3][5] a by-form of wegge.[4] It is related to Dutch wig (“wedge”),[4] Middle Dutch wegge, Old High German weggi[3] and Old English wecg, the source of wedge.[2][3] The cake was named after its wedge shape.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A kind of bun or small cake of fine flour: 1376, in a London guild record.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word survived mainly in Scotland and in dialect,[5] where Wright's dialect dictionary records it as an obsolete kind of fine bread in Scotland and as a bun or cake in many English counties from Northumberland to Devon.[6] The Shorter Oxford describes it as a small bun made with currants and butter,[5] and Merriam-Webster as a British bun flavoured with spices and caraway seeds.[3]

Timeline

  • 1376 – a bun or small cake.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (British, now chiefly Scottish and dialect) A small bun, flavoured with caraway seeds and spices or made with currants.[3][5][6]

wig2 false hair

Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1675 Character of a Town-gallant
Borrowed from
Middle French perruque
Ultimate origin
Italian perrucca

Etymology

The false hair is a shortened form of periwig,[4][7][8][9][10] as winkle is of periwinkle.[4][5] Periwig (1520s) was a popular alteration of peruke,[7][11][10] borrowed from Middle French perruque,[7][4] which came from Italian perrucca, a word of unknown origin.[11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

An artificial covering of hair for the head: 1675, in The Character of a Town-gallant.[4][3][8] Etymonline gives the 1670s.[7]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it simply as false hair worn on the head.[13] As part of professional dress, the Shorter Oxford notes, wigs are now worn only by judges and barristers.[5] By 1828 a wig could also be a person who wears one professionally, a dignitary, compare bigwig.[4][7] A wig or wigging was a severe scolding from 1789,[4][14] and the verb to wig, to scold, from 1829;[4][7] Ayto and the Oxford Dictionary of English link this with the idea of a rebuke from a bigwig.[11][15] The verb in the sense "to supply with a wig" dates from 1826,[4][8][7] replacing the earlier bewig.[7] Phrases include dash my wig, a mild oath (1797), and the Irish wigs on the green, a fight (1856);[4][7] in Scotland and the north of England wigs on the green meant lively doings or a row.[6] In American slang to wig out, to lose control or go mad, is recorded from 1955,[4][7] which the OED compares with to flip one's wig.[4] The coarse hair on the shoulders of a full-grown male fur seal is technically its wig (1830).[4]

Timeline

  • 1675 – an artificial head of hair.[4][3][8]
  • 1789 – a severe scolding.[4][14]
  • 1797 – dash my wig.[4][7]
  • 1826 – verb, to supply with a wig.[4][8][3]
  • 1828 – a person who wears a wig professionally; a dignitary.[4][7]
  • 1829 – verb, to scold severely.[4][7]
  • 1830 – the coarse shoulder hair of a male fur seal.[4]
  • 1955 – wig out, to lose control (US slang).[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A covering of real or synthetic hair worn on the head to hide baldness, as part of a costume or official dress, or for fashion: The actor wore a grey wig for the second act.[16][3][4]
  2. (British slang) A severe telling-off; a wigging.[4][14]

Verb

  1. To supply with a wig, or put a wig on.[3][4][16]
  2. (British slang) To scold severely.[3][16][4]
  3. wig out (US slang): to lose one's composure, or become wildly excited.[3][4]

Word family

  • wigless
  • wiglike
  • unwig
  • bewigged
  • bigwig
  • wiggery

Usage notes

The OED and the Shorter Oxford also record two rare northern words spelled wig: the phrase from wig to wall, backwards and forwards, from Old Norse veggr (“wall”) (1602),[4][5][6] and a verb meaning to wag or move from side to side (before 1529), compare wiggle.[4][6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  15. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

  • shelf · also from Middle Low German
  • brake · also from Middle Low German
  • utter · also from Middle Low German
  • tub · also from Middle Low German
  • hawk · also from Middle Low German
  • stove · also from Middle Low German
  • scrub · also from Middle Low German
  • damp · also from Middle Low German
Cite this entry

“Wig.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/wig. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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