Periwig, what a fun word indeed.

No wonder Shakespeare gave it to Hamlet in Act III Scene II: “… to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters …”.

Where did periwig come from? We have to go back to the 1520s to hear an English gentleman when speaking of a “peruke, artificial imitation head of hair worn as a fashionable accessory or part of a formal professional costume.” Only he said perwyke, a popular mispronunciation of the French word perruque, which comes from the Italian word perrucca, “head of hair, wig”. And, according to some, comes from Latin pilus “hair”.

So, which is it? In the Merrium-Webster dictionary Periwig refers you directly to Peruke, which in turn refers you directly to Wig, specifically one of a type popular from the 17th to early 19th century. These are the wigs that, in some cases, drape down from the top of the head onto the shoulders.