chevelure means the nebulous part of a comet or star.
chevelure is pronounced /ˌʃɛvəˈljʊɚ/.
Why “chevelure” is a great word
The mass of hair on a human head, considered as a singular, flowing entity; by extension, the nebulous envelope of a comet or an artificial periwig. It derives from the French *chevelure* ("head of hair"), from Old French *cheveleüre*, from Late Latin *capillātūra* ("hairiness, head of hair"), rooted in the Latin *capillus* for "hair," first recorded in English in the late fifteenth century. Unlike "tresses," which suggests arranged locks or braids, or "coiffure," which denotes a styled arrangement, chevelure is the raw material—the untamed fact of hair as a feature. It is the lion’s mane in the wind, the comet’s luminous veil trailing through the void, or the wild cascade obscuring a face in a Renaissance portrait—not a style but a presence, a fundamental abundance from which all order must be wrested.
Etymology
Borrowed from French chevelure.
noun
- The nebulous part of a comet or star.e.g.“A bright star with a considerable milky chevelure” — 1802, William Herschel, Catalogue of 500 new Nebulae, nebulous Stars, planetary Nebulae, and Clusters of Stars; with Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens:
- A head of hair.e.g.“An anarchy of small curls was her chevelure, a dark upland of misrule, every hair asserting its rights over a not discreditable brow.” — 1911, Max Beerbohm, chapter II, in Zuleika Dobson:
- A periwig.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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