crew-cut
Meaning
A very short hairstyle for men and boys, in which the hair is cut evenly all over the head.
Structure
Usage
He got a crew-cut for basic training because it was easy to maintain.
The classic crew-cut has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years.
His hair was so short, almost a crew-cut, that you could see his scalp.
Etymology
The term 'crew-cut' is a quintessentially American compound word, first recorded in the 1940s. It directly combines 'crew', referring to a group of people (originally from a Latin root meaning 'to grow' or 'increase', applied to a reinforced group), with 'cut', the act of shearing. The name derives from the hairstyle's popularity among college rowing crews and other athletic teams, where the short, practical cut was standard. Thus, the literal "cut of a crew" evolved into a fixed term for this specific, uniformly short hairstyle, linking the social group that popularized it to the physical act that defines it.
Analysis
- crew: From Middle English 'crewe', meaning an increase, reinforcement, or group of people. Origin: Old French 'creue', from the past participle of 'creistre' (to grow), from Latin 'crescere'. - cut: From Middle English 'cutten', 'kitten', 'kytten'. Origin: Likely from Old Norse 'kytja', 'kutta', meaning to cut.