English
forelock
Forelock comes from Old English forelocc ‘a forelock’, from locc ‘lock (of hair)’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- ‘to bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewg-1‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lugnós1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lukkaz2‘lock (of hair)’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lukk2reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150locc3‘lock (of hair)’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forelocc4‘a forelock’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forelock4reconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1667forelock4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *lukkaz
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English locc
- 3 Wiktionary, Old English forelocc
- 4 Wiktionary, English forelock
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IV: “His fair large front and eye sublime declared Absolute…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lewg-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *lukkaz‘to bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*lugnósWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *lukkazreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lukkazWiktionary, Old English locc‘lock (of hair)’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lukkWiktionary, Old English loccreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150loccWiktionary, Old English forelocc‘lock (of hair)’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150foreloccWiktionary, English forelock‘a forelock’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forelockWiktionary, English forelockreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1667forelockWiktionary, English forelock. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, Book IV: “His fair large front and eye sublime declared Absolute…”
Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before, formerly’
Proto-Germanic *fura- ‘before, in front of, for’
Proto-West Germanic *forē- ‘before, in front of, fore-, pre-’
English fore-
Proto-Indo-European *lewg- ‘to bend’
Proto-Germanic *luką
Proto-West Germanic *lok ‘shutter’
Old English loc
Middle English lok
English lock
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *lewg- ‘to bend’
Another origin of forelock
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forelok
- Englishtodayforelock
Today it means
noun The part of a person's hairstyle which covers the forehead.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “forelock”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *lukkaz, Old English locc, Old English forelocc. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *lewg- / forelock