forelock (n.)

"lock of hair growing above the forehead," Old English forelocca "forelock;" see fore- + lock (n.2).

"Opportunity has hair in front, behind she is bald; if you seize her by the forelock, you may hold her; but, if she once escapes, not Jupiter himself can catch her again." ["Dictionary of Latin Quotations, Proverbs, Maxims and Mottos," H.T. Riley, London, 1866]

Entries linking to forelock

lock (n.2)

"tress of hair," Old English locc "lock of hair, curl" (plural loccas), from Proto-Germanic *lukkoz (source also of Old Norse lokkr, Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch lok, Old High German loc, German Locke "lock of hair"), a word of uncertain origin. According to OED, perhaps from a PIE *lugnos- and related to Greek lygos "pliant twig, withe," Lithuanian lugnas "flexible" (see reluctance).

fore-

Middle English for-, fore-, from Old English fore-, often for- or foran-, from fore (adv. & prep.), which was used as a prefix in Old English as in other Germanic languages with a sense of "before in time, rank, position," etc., or designating the front part or earliest time.

Trends of forelock

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More to Explore

toupee

1727, from French toupet "tuft of hair, forelock," diminutive formed from Old French top "tuft, forelock, topknot" (12c.)...

lug

Scotland), which is probably from Scandinavian (compare Swedish lugg "forelock," Norwegian lugg "tuft of hair") and influenced...

time

Personified at least since 1509 as an aged bald man (but with a forelock) carrying a scythe and an hour-glass....

hair

Old English hær "hair, a hair," from Proto-Germanic *hēran (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German har, Old Frisian her, Dutch and German haar "hair"), perhaps from PIE *ghers- "to stand out, to bristle, rise to a point" (source also of Lithuanian šerys "bristle;" s

curl

late 14c. (implied in curled), "turn, bend, form in ringlets" (transitive), a metathesized formation corresponding to the Middle English adjective crull, crulle (c. 1300), which is probably from an unrecorded Old English word or from Middle Dutch krul "curly," from Proto-Germanic

sanguine

late 14c., "blood-red, of a blood-red color" (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French sanguin (fem. sanguine) and directly from Latin sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis (genitive sanguinis) "blood" (see sanguinary). The meaning "cheerful, hopeful, v

talent

late 13c., "inclination, disposition, will, desire;" c. 1300, "feeling, emotion, passion," senses now obsolete, from Old French talent (12c.), from Medieval Latin talenta, plural of talentum "inclination, leaning, will, desire" (11c.), in classical Latin "balance, weight; sum of

hyperbole

"obvious exaggeration in rhetoric," early 15c., from Latin hyperbole, from Greek hyperbole "exaggeration, extravagance," literally "a throwing beyond," from hyper- "beyond" (see hyper-) + bole "a throwing, a casting, the stroke of a missile, bolt, beam," from bol-, nominative ste

remedy

c. 1200, remedie, "means of counteracting sin or evil of any kind; cure for a vice or temptation;" late 14c., "a cure for a disease or disorder, medicine or process which restores health;" from Anglo-French remedie, Old French remede "remedy, cure" (12c., Modern French remède) an

plumb

early 14c., "a mass of lead hung on a string to show the vertical line" (mid-14c. as "the metal lead"), from Old French *plombe, plomee "sounding lead," and directly from Late Latin *plumba, originally plural of Latin plumbum "lead (the metal), lead ball; pipe; pencil," a word of

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updated on September 25, 2018

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Dictionary entries near forelock

forehead

foreign

foreigner

foreknowledge

foreleg

forelock

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foremast

fore-mentioned

foremost

forename