curlicue

also n.

A fancy twist or curl, such as a flourish made with a pen.

[CURLY + CUE¹, tail, and possibly CUE³.]

curlicued curl'i·cued adj.

or curlycue

(KUR-li-kyoo)
noun

A decorative curl or twist, in a signature, calligraphy, etc.

[From curly, from curl, from crul (yes, that's how it was spelled earlier) + cue, from Old French cue (tail).]

To find some great curlicues, try the US Declaration of Independence archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_zoom_2.html The most prominent signature is of John Hancock, the first signer of the document. Today the term John Hancock has become an eponym for a signature.
Happy holidays and Happy New Year to all of you from all of us at Wordsmith.org!

Usage:

"Book covers are likely to be pink with snappy titles in curlicue fonts and images of a woman's body part (often long, bare legs tapering to a couple of high-heeled exclamation points)." — Tahree Lane; Women's Lives Are Reflected in 'Chic Lit' Genre; Toledo Blade (Ohio); Nov 13, 2005.

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
  Synonyms: coil, whorl, roll, curl, ringlet, gyre, scroll

Meaning #2: a short twisting line
  Synonym: squiggle

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - krusedulle

Nederlands (Dutch)
tierelantijntje

Français (French)
n. - fioriture, figure (de patinage)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Schnörkel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (για γραφή) μαγκουρίτσα

Italiano (Italian)
svolazzo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - arabesco (m)

Русский (Russian)
завитушка

Español (Spanish)
n. - arabesco, cosa ensortijada caprichosamente

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - krusidull

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
花体, 花饰

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 花體, 花飾

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 소용돌이

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 渦巻図形, 渦巻形の飾り書き
v. - 渦巻図形をなす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لفه فنيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סלסול לקישוט, סלסול (מתחת לחתימה)‬

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