agal

noun

ə-ˈgäl

plural -s

: a cord usually of goat's hair that Arabs (as the Bedouins) wind around their heads to hold down the kerchieflike headdress

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from vernacular forms (with reduction or effacement of the first vowel and [g] for q) of Arabic ʽiqāl "headband"

First Known Use

1853, in the meaning defined above

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