A hairstyle, worn prominently by young black males, that braids the hair to the scalp in a series of rows, looking like a farmer's field in symmetry. Made popular by many basketball players and actors.

One of several protective methods used to prevent breakage of kinky, nappy, tightly curled or coily hair. These braiding techniques were brought to the New World by African slaves and knowledge of these traditions were passed from generation to generation whereever black Africans were enslaved.

Traditionally these hairstyles were only used by women and little girls. Presently cornrows are a non-gender specific style used for convenience and protection of kinky hair.

The terms cornrows, corn rows and corn rolls are often confused. Corn rolls are a baked good and corn rows are rows of corn plants in a field. Cornrows are infact the style of hair worn by African Americans. The single term "cornrows" dates back to when African Americans primarily worked in agricultural settings and refers to the similarities between the hairstyle and straight rows of corn with spaces in between. This is not the same term as Corn Rolls which refer to a baked good. Althought there does seem to be a small fraction (less than 2% of internet sites) that refer to "corn rolls" as a type of hairstyle the vast majority use the term "cornrows."

a hairstyle worn by allen iverson... dey are soo sexy.