peruke English · revision 1084

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pəˈɹuːk/ ''(UK)''; /pəˈɹuk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|perruque|t=head of hair; wig]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Old Italian ''perrucca'', ''parrucca'' “head of hair, wig”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) A link with Latin ''pilus'' “hair” has been suggested, but the OED finds the sound changes difficult.^(Etymonline) Compare [[periwig]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A natural head of hair (1548).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of a wig, false hair, is recorded from the 1560s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) Large perukes with curls falling on the shoulders were worn from about 1660 to 1725, and smaller ones later;^(Etymonline) a reminder survives in the wigs of British judges and barristers.^(Etymonline) The old sense of natural hair is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1548 – a natural head of hair.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1565–73 – a wig.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1660–1725 – large curled perukes in fashion.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[wig]], especially one worn by men in the 17th and 18th centuries, often powdered and tied at the back; a [[periwig]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[peruked]]

+ * [[perukeless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[periwig]]

+ * [[wig]]

+ * [[perruquier]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}