where did the term widow's peak originate
Widow's peak
The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead -- suggestive of the peak of a widow 's hood -- is an omen of early widowhood . The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833 . The expression widow 's peak dates from 1849 . The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress , particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front -- a biquoquet -- which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530 . Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century . A mourning cap or ' Mary Stuart Cap ' is a cap which features a very distinctive triangular fold of cloth in the middle of the forehead , creating an artificial widow 's peak . The use of peak referring to a point in the cloth covering the forehead dates to at least 1509 when it appears in Alexander Barclay 's The Shyp of Folys : 
The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead -- suggestive of the peak of a widow 's hood -- is an omen of early widowhood . The use of peak in relation to hair dates from 1833 . The expression widow 's peak dates from 1849 . The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress , particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front -- a biquoquet -- which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530 . Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century . A mourning cap or ' Mary Stuart Cap ' is a cap which features a very distinctive triangular fold of cloth in the middle of the forehead , creating an artificial widow 's peak . The use of peak referring to a point in the cloth covering the forehead dates to at least 1509 when it appears in Alexander Barclay 's The Shyp of Folys :
The expression widow's peak dates from 1849.  The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead -- suggestive of the peak of a widow's hood -- is an omen of early widowhood.   The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress, particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530.  Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century.
The term stems from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead -- suggestive of the peak of a widow 's hood -- is an omen of early widowhood . The expression widow 's peak dates from 1849 . The use of peak may refer to the beak or bill of a headdress , particularly the distinctive hood with a pointed piece in front -- a biquoquet -- which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530 . Another explanation for the origin of the phrase suggests that it may be related to the mourning caps worn as early as the 16th century .