Definition of "earlock" [ear•lock]

• A lock of curled hair that hangs in front of the ear. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Like a great child — slim within his arm, her cheek pressed to his, her dark earlock tickling his neck!"
• "He was torn to pieces, had a bleeding ear, and a torn earlock."