Cornrows

[Becky]

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

[Michiko]

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.

[Britney]

A traditional African style of hair grooming where the hair is braided very close to the scalp. Often favored for their easy maintenance, cornrows can be left in for weeks at a time if maintained through careful washing of the hair and regular oiling of the scalp.

[Britney]

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.

[Sommer]

(especially among black people) a style of braiding and plaiting the hair in narrow strips to form geometric patterns on the scalp.

[Dorothey Allen]

one of many strips of hair twisted together close to the head in thin rows:

[Tracie Lynn]

A style of braiding and plaiting the hair in narrow strips to form geometric patterns on the scalp.