1. elaborate wigs worn especially by men in the 17th and 18th centuries
Usage: archaic; historical

Examples

• The courtiers wore powdered perukes as symbols of their high status.
• Fashionable gentlemen of the 1700s spent considerable money on their perukes.
• The museum displayed several ornate perukes from the colonial period.
• Judges in some countries still wear perukes as part of their traditional court dress.
• The actor’s costume included an elaborate peruke with long curls.
• Wealthy merchants often owned multiple perukes for different occasions.