Pig Tails

[Steffiy]

Why are pig tails called pigtails?

Thanks,

Stef

[Quizmonster]

Assuming you mean a girl's hair-style, presumably because they are relatively short and twisted, just like an actual pig's tail.

[tartanwiz]

Always wondered about that one myself. Pigtails are long, pleated strands of hair - absolutely nothing like a pig's tail.

[Quizmonster]

The earliest references to 'pigtail' in the hair sense date to the 1750s, when it was a male style. It was short, not long and, in the British Army, regulations stated that seven inches was the maximum permitted length. Other meanings of the word, such as a twist of tobacco, a type of candle, a piece of rope in the navy etc, also all referred to short articles.

Later, the hairstyle was adopted by females and they - despite tending to have longer hair in any case - still used the term 'pigtail' even when the length made a comparison with a real pig's tail inaccurate.

The name is just an historic 'hangover', as it were, rather than a specific description.

[New Forester]

Pigs' tails can be much more like that than most modern breeds, which tend to have curly tails -- think of  a warthog's tail.