chignon

roll or twist of hair worn at the nape of the neck; a bun

Related: se crêper le chignon

Spelled chaengnon around the 12th century with the meaning of nape; same Latin root as chaîne, i.e. catēna, perhaps via reconstructed Vulgar Latin *catēniōnem. The evolution of the meaning from “chain” to “nape” is unclear: a chain of bones (see Czech páteř for a similar evolution) or metonymical, where a chain would rest (see col, collier). The modern sense dates back from the middle of the 18th century and might have been influenced by the sound proximity of tignon, from tignasse. The expressi