Periwigs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of elaborate and often powdered wig popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, typically worn by men as a fashion statement
2. A flamboyant hairstyle made of human or synthetic hair, commonly associated with historical attire
3. A decorative hairpiece that symbolizes status, often styled in curls or waves, historically favored in formal occasions

Etymology: Periwigs is the plural of "periwig", a word that arrived in English by way of a French mistake. The French original was "perruque", which English borrowed in its own right as "peruke", and "periwig" is an alteration of that same French word, reshaped in English so that it sounded like "wig". The two forms are doublets: one came in directly, the other was reworked along the way. The change from "perruque" to "periwig" is a typical case of folk reshaping. Speakers heard the last part of the borrowed word as "wig", the familiar English name for the hairpiece, and altered the spelling and sound to match. The result is a word that looks like a compound of "peri-" and "wig", though that is not its real history. The plural "periwigs" simply names more than one such hairpiece. Because the form is an alteration rather than a native English compound, the "wig" ending is an accident of resemblance, not a sign of the word's meaning.

Synonyms: wigs, hairpieces