agal
1
9.9
A cord men wear to hold a headscarf on their head
- noun
:
agal
- The Arab men secured their kaffiyeh with a traditional agal made from goat's hair.
Examples
-
He adjusted the agal to ensure the kaffiyeh stayed in place during the wind.
-
During the festival, the Bedouins wore their intricately woven agal with pride.
-
The earrings shown here, designed by Salah Saidi, are extremely popular and are called agal or broderie (the French term for "embroidery").
Academic text (2006)
Surface Forms
Etymology
Agal comes from the Arabic word ʿiqāl, meaning 'cord', and from the verb ʿaqala, 'to tie'. So an agal is literally a cord that 'ties' a headscarf in place, which explains its use in traditional Arab dress.