Cafune

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A gentle act of running one's fingers through someone's hair in an affectionate manner
2. The loving gesture of caressing or stroking hair, often associated with comfort and tenderness
3. An intimate and soothing action involving the fingers gliding through another person's hair to convey care and connection

Etymology: In Brazilian Portuguese, "cafuné" is the tender act of running fingers slowly through someone's hair. Its origin lies in Kimbundu, a Bantu language of Angola, where a related term likely described searching or combing hair, often to remove lice. Enslaved Africans brought such words to Brazil, where Portuguese absorbed them. The meaning appears to have softened as the term passed into Brazilian Portuguese. A practical, sometimes unpleasant grooming task became an affectionate gesture, the kind a parent or lover might offer. Its exact path into Portuguese is less well documented than the Kimbundu source, so the details of that transfer are uncertain.

Synonyms: hair caress, head stroke, scalp massage