What does tress mean?
A tress is a long lock of hair, particularly a woman's long lock, and it can also mean a braid or plait of hair. The word is strongly associated with poetry, romance, and literary descriptions of long, flowing hair: a writer might speak of golden, dark, or wind-blown tresses. In modern everyday English, hair, locks, braid, or plait are usually more natural, so tress can sound elevated, archaic, or deliberately elegant. It is generally used in the plural, although the singular is grammatically possible. The word is also interesting linguistically because it comes through Old French and Latin from the Greek thrix, meaning “hair,” a root preserved in modern words such as trichology and trichome. Tress therefore belongs to both literal descriptions of hair and the traditional vocabulary of romantic and poetic prose.
nounA tress is a long lock of hair, especially a long lock of a woman's hair. It may also refer to a braid or plait of hair.
- A long lock of hair, especially a long lock of a woman's hair; by extension, a braid or plait of hair.
"Her long golden tresses caught the light as she walked through the garden."
"The wind lifted the girl's long tresses as she ran along the beach."
"The poet described the woman's tresses as rivers of dark silk."
The plural is much more common than the singular and is used for multiple locks or braids of hair.
"Her tresses fell over her shoulders in long, dark waves."
The word tress ultimately reaches back to Greek thrix, meaning “hair,” the same root that gives us trichology, the study of hair.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tress come from?
Tress entered English from Old French tresse, meaning a braid or tress. That French word was borrowed from Latin trichea, which is generally traced to Greek thrix, meaning “hair,” with trichos as its genitive form. The same Greek root underlies terms such as trichology, trichome, and trichoid.
Related word forms
How tress is actually used
Tress is mainly literary, poetic, or somewhat old-fashioned. In everyday speech, hair, locks, braid, or plait is more usual. It is typically used in the plural and often suggests long, flowing hair.