Meanings
plural cowlicks · alternative cow-lick · alternative cow lick
- An unruly lock or section of hair that sticks straight out from the skull or lies at an angle at odds with the rest of an individual's hair, like a whorl or vortex.
We would touch strangers discreetly, feathering down their cowlicks.
2022, Ling Ma, “G”, in Bliss Montage, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBNSynonyms: calflick
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn unruly lock or section of hair that sticks straight out from the skull or lies at an angle at odds with the rest of an individual's hair, like a whorl or vortex.
Origin
From cow + lick; as the hair may appear to have been licked into place by a cow.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan reveixí
- reveixíunruly lock of hair
Chinese Cantonese 轉 /转
- 轉 /转unruly lock of hair
Danish koslik
- koslikunruly lock of hair
Dutch weerborstel
- weerborstelunruly lock of hair
Finnish hiuskiehkura
- hiuskiehkuraunruly lock of hair
French épi
- épiunruly lock of hair
German Haarwirbel, Wirbel
- Haarwirbelunruly lock of hair
- Wirbelunruly lock of hair
Irish deisealán
- deisealánunruly lock of hair
Italian ciuffo ribelle, ritrosa
- ciuffo ribelleunruly lock of hair
- ritrosaunruly lock of hair
Japanese アホ毛
- アホ毛 (ahoge)unruly lock of hair
Persian موی ناخواب
- موی ناخواب (mu-ye nâxâb)unruly lock of hair
Polish kosmyk
- kosmykunruly lock of hair
Portuguese redemoinho
- redemoinhounruly lock of hair
Romanian vârtej, moț
- vârtejunruly lock of hair
- moțunruly lock of hair
Russian вихор
- вихор (vixor)unruly lock of hair
Spanish remolino, mechón
- remolinounruly lock of hair
- mechónunruly lock of hair
Swedish koslick
- koslickunruly lock of hair
Tagalog puyo
- puyounruly lock of hair
Thai ขวัญ
- ขวัญ (kwǎn)unruly lock of hair
Vietnamese khoáy
- khoáyunruly lock of hair
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
cowlick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowlick
“cowlick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowlick. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cowlick,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cowlick.
Source: cowlick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.