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Glite Dictionary
kiss curl

kiss curl

1 8.5
A small lock of hair shaped to lie flat on the forehead or cheek as decoration
  • noun
translation icon : rizo decorativo
  • The old photograph captured a young man with a charming kiss curl by his temple.

Examples

  • She rooted around in her purse, found a small mirror, and went to work repairing the kiss curl on her forehead, wetting her index finger on her tongue and poking at the hair until it was plastered against her skin.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • She carefully styled her hair so that the kiss curl lay flat against her forehead.

  • For the dance, she had a beautiful kiss curl framing her face, enhancing her elegant look.

Synonyms

curl
vskiss curl
76 1.0

A lock of hair shaped into a small spiral

is a flat styled coil that lies against the face rather than a free spiral
lock
vskiss curl
68 3.7

A small bunch of hair that forms a curl

is a precise flat decorative hair coil rather than a general strand
spit curl
vskiss curl
  • Archaic
1 8.4

A small lock of hair styled flat on the forehead or cheek

is the same flat decorative hair coil but called by a different name

Surface Forms

kiss curl singular
kiss curls plural

Morphology

kiss + curl

The components 'kiss' (a gentle touch) and 'curl' (a ringlet of hair) combine to suggest a curl that lies against or 'touches' the skin, so a learner could infer an approximate meaning. However, the term is a conventional, metaphorical name for a specific hairstyling feature and that exact sense (a small decorative lock styled to lie flat) is not fully predictable without exposure, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

Kiss curl comes from the idea of a small curl that looks as if someone gave it a kiss onto the skin, a little lock pressed flat to the forehead or cheek. So kiss curl means a 'decorative' small lock of hair styled to lie flat against the face.