Fairy-lock

[1] The concept is first attested in English in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in Mercutio's speech of the many exploits of Queen Mab, where he seems to imply the locks are only unlucky if combed out: Therefore, the appellation of elf lock or fairy lock could be attributed to any various tangles and knots of unknown origins appearing in the manes of beasts or hair of sleeping children.

In King Lear, when Edgar impersonates a madman, "elf all my hair in knots.

XIX; Jane's description of Rochester disguised as a gypsy: "... elf-locks bristled out from beneath a white band ..." German counterparts of the "elf-lock" are Alpzopf, Drutenzopf, Wichtelzopf, Weichelzopf, Mahrenlocke, Elfklatte, etc.

[3] The use of the word elf seems to have declined steadily in English, becoming a rural dialect term, before being revived by translations of fairy tales in the nineteenth century and fantasy fiction in the twentieth.

[4] In Poland and nearby countries, witches and evil spirits were often blamed for Polish plait.