Payot

Payot (also pe'ot, peyot, payos, peyos; Hebrew: singular ,פֵּאָה ;plural ,פֵּאוֹת‎) is the Hebrew word for sidelocks or sidecurls. Payot are worn by some men and boys in the Orthodox Jewish community based on an interpretation of the Biblical injunction against shaving the "corners" of one's head. Literally, pe'ah means corner, side or edge. There are different styles of payot among Haredi, Yemenite, and Hasidic Jews. Yemenite Jews call their sidelocks simonim Hebrew: סִימָנִים‎, literally signs, because their long curled sidelocks served as a distinguishing feature in Yemenite society (distinguishing them from their non-Jewish neighbors).