chignon

Borrowed from French chignon.

• IPA^(key): /ʃɪnˈjɒn/

chignon (plural chignons)

1. A roll or twist of hair worn at the nape of the neck; a bun.
   • 1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 2, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

     If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.

2. (medicine) A temporary swelling on a neonate's head after a ventouse-assisted delivery.

• (hairstyle): bun, cock-up

Spelled chaengnon around the 12th century with the meaning of "nape"; same Latin root as chaîne, i.e. catēna, perhaps via reconstructed Vulgar Latin *catēniō. The evolution of the meaning from "chain" to "nape" is unclear: a chain of bones (see Czech páteř for a similar evolution) or metonymical (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 expression chignon de pain, is a local, dialectal pronunciation of quignon de pain ("loaf of bread"). Note that, although not taken into consideration by the TLFi (see reference below), quignon could also be the etymon of chignon, considering that the same "pastry metaphor" applies to French macaron, English bun.

• IPA^(key): /ʃi.ɲɔ̃/

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chignon m (plural chignons)

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

• se crêper le chignon: speaking about two women: to have a dispute.

• etymology

• “chignon” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).