Dictionary

toupee en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /tuːˈpeɪ/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

1727, from French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Middle French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), from Old French toupet (“small tuft of hair, forelock”), diminutive of toupe, top (“tuft of hair”), from Frankish *topp (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”). Cognate with Old Dutch topp (“top”) (Dutch top), Old Frisian top (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), Old English top (“summit, crest, tuft of hair”), Old High German zopf (“end, summit, tuft of hair”), Old Norse toppr (“tuft of hair, forelock”). More at top.

Meanings

1. A wig of false hair worn to cover a bald spot, especially as worn by a man.
   • Near-synonym: hair system
2. (obsolete) A small tuft; a curl or artificial lock of hair.
3. (obsolete) A small wig, or a toppiece of a wig, worn by both sexes.
   • Her powdered hair is turned backward over a toupee. 1860, George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss:

Forms

Coordinates

hair topper

Deriveds

toupeed · toupee fallacy

Synonyms

hair system · hairpiece

Translations (24)

pl tupecik (wig) · pl tupet (wig) · nv tsiigháshchíín (wig) · fi hiuslisäke (wig) · es peluquín (wig) · da tupé (wig) · hu tupé (wig) · sv tupé (wig) · it toppè (wig) · es peluca de hombre (wig) · nb tupé (wig) · fi tupee (wig) · nn tupé (wig) · es bisoñé (wig) · pl peruczka (wig) · ja 鬘 (wig) · tl tambulok (wig) · sh tupé (wig) · ko 가발 (wig) · ru пари́к (wig) · el περουκίνι (wig) · bg тупе (wig) · de Toupet (wig) · fr toupet (wig)