A widow’s peak is a hairline that grows in a V-shape with the narrow end pointed to the center of the forehead. The folk belief is that if a woman sports such a hairline she will outlive her husband and therefore, become a widow. The term widow’s peak came into popularity in the eighteenth century, the assumption is that the term came from the fact that a widow’s peak hairline mimics the peak of a widow’s mourning hood. Today, both men and women may be described as having a widow’s peak, it is a dominant inherited trait. Note that widow’s is a singular possessive, the apostrophe comes before the s. The plural form is widows’ peaks.
Examples
From side and middle parts, to powdered widow’s peak, and Afro puffs, Nyong’o is truly a hair chameleon, and her ability to pull off virtually any look with short hair deserves a gold star. (Essence Magazine)
The man with the widow’s peak was captured on CCTV at about 3.30am on Saturday (28 May) and a plea to find him went out the same day on Facebook. (Brighton and Hove News)
His height, his big microphone, his pronounced widow’s peak, the screaming: the over-all effect is commanding, and a little unnerving. (The New Yorker)
With his chunky-cheeked, boyish grin and dark, curly hair swept back from a widow’s peak, he crooned pop favorites for 35 million people from 1951 to 1953 on CBS’s “Arthur Godfrey Time,” a weekday morning television and radio show, and for “Arthur Godfrey and His Friends,” a Wednesday night variety program. (The New York Times)
We all know the lore surrounding vampires: the fangs, the blood, the widow’s peak and intimidating black cloak. (The Guardian)