7 August 2017

peruke

[puh-rook]

noun

1. a man’s wig of the 17th and 18th centuries, usually powdered and gathered at the back of the neck with a ribbon; periwig.

Origin of peruke

Middle French

1540-1550 First recorded in 1540-50, peruke is from the Middle French word perruque head of hair, wig, of disputed orig.

Related forms

peruked, adjective
perukeless, adjective
unperuked, adjective

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for peruke

Historical Examples

Daniel’s head is covered with a peruke of considerable magnitude.
Notes and Queries, Number 80, May 10, 1851
Various

The peruke, and, as it were, all that the peruke symbolized.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Volume IV. (of XXI.)
Thomas Carlyle

He found his peruke a model of perfection; tight, yet easy; not an inch more on one side than on the other.
Imaginary Conversations and Poems
Walter Savage Landor

Anagram

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Today’s quote

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

– Bertrand Russell

On this day

7 August 1876 – birth of Mata Hari, (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle), Dutch dancer, courtesan and spy. She was charged with espionage and executed by firing squad in France, after being accused of spying for Germany during World War I. Died 15 October 1917.

7 August 1964 – birth of John Birmingham, Australian author.

7 August 1987 – US long distance swimmer, Lynne Cox, swims the freezing Bering Strait from Alaska to the Soviet Union in an effort to warm the relationship between the USA and the USSR. Unlike the reception that Matthius Rust received in May 1987 for illegally entering the Soviet Union, Lynne Cox was welcomed by the Eskimos of the Diomede Islands and Soviet soldiers stationed there. Her effort was praised by the both US President Ronald Reagan and USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.