Advertisement

Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

Origin and history of wig

wig(n.)

"artificial covering of hair for the head," 1670s, shortened form of periwig. The meaning "person who wears a wig (professionally)" is from 1828.

wig(v.)

1826, "supply with a wig," from wig (n.). The earlier verb was bewig (see bewigged).

The meaning "behave hysterically" (usually with out) is attested by 1955, perhaps from notion in flip one's wig. The verb also had a colloquial sense of "scold severely," attested by 1829 (a wigging was "a scolding"), which might have contributed to this later sense.

Also compare dash my wig!, a former mild imprecation (1797), and wigs on the green (1856), Irish colloquial for "a fight or rumble" (in which wigs are likely to be detached from their wearers). Related: Wigged; wigging.

also from 1826

Entries linking to wig

bewigged(adj.)

"wearing a wig," 1774, from be- + wig (n.).

periwig(n.)

"peruke, artificial imitation of a head of hair," worn as a fashionable accessory or as part of a professional costume, 1520s, perwyke, a popular corruption of perruck, from French perruque (see peruke), evidently by simulation of the French pronunciation and the influence of peri-.

bigwig(n.)

also big-wig, "great man, person of consequence," 1781, from big + wig, in reference to the imposing wigs formerly worn by men of rank or authority.

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trends of wig

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    flip
    is first recorded 1950; flip (one's) lid "lose one's head, go wild" is from 1949, American English; variant flip (one's) wig...Not quite as wig-flipping as reverse side--but a wig-flipper" Billboard, Sept. 17, 1949]. Related: Flipped....
    wedge
    Old English wecg "a wedge," from Proto-Germanic *wagjaz (source also of Old Norse veggr, Middle Dutch wegge, Dutch wig, Old...
    tete
    as a type of women's tall dressed hair or wig, 1756, from French tête "head," Old French teste, from Latin testa, literally...
    peruke
    natural head of hair" (a sense now obsolete), from French perruque (late 15c.), which is from Italian perrucca "head of hair, wig...
    victim
    Perhaps distantly connected to Old English wig "idol," Gothic weihs "holy," German weihen "consecrate" (compare Weihnachten...
    block
    The sense of "mold on which something is shaped, or placed to keep its shape," typically a hat or wig, is from 1570s; the...
    queue
    Revolution," 1837] Also used 18c. in sense of "braid of hair hanging down behind" (attested by 1748), originally part of the wig...
    satellite
    1540s, "follower or attendant of a superior person" (but rare in this sense before late 18c.), from French satellite (14c.), from Latin satellitem (nominative satelles)  "an attendant" upon a distinguished person; "a body-guard, a courtier; an assistant," in Cicero often in
    mantle
    Old English mentel "a loose, sleeveless garment worn as an outer covering, falling in straight lines from the shoulders," from Latin mantellum "cloak" (source of Italian mantello, Old High German mantal, German Mantel, Old Norse mötull), perhaps from a Celtic source, or, if the L
    condescend
    mid-14c., of God, a king., etc., "make gracious allowance" for human frailty, etc.; late 14c., "yield deferentially," from Old French condescendere (14c.) "to agree, consent, give in, yield, come down from one's rights or claims," and directly from Late Latin condescendere "to le

    Share wig

    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Trending
    Dictionary entries near wig
    Advertisement

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.

    Want to remove ads? Log in to see fewer ads, and become a Premium Member to remove all ads.