where did the name widows peak come from
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 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.
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 -- a biquoquet -- which widows wore as a hood of mourning dating from 1530 .