Orig German
I discovered some obscure and unusual words while looking back over the history of hats and headdress. Having recently finished reading THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN (by Simon Winchester, HarperCollins 1998) on the implementation of the Oxford English dictionary, I thought it might be fun to explore the definitions and etymology of some of these ancient terms, most of which have all but disappeared from modern usage. [You can find parts one and EzineArticles.com and three to the HAT BLOG:. All Hat]
In the earlier parts of this project, I said that to qualify entry in the list, the word "must appear with a red wavy line tool to" spell "of Microsoft Word." Now, however, that these terms enter the 20th century to use, they are, of course, less obscure. For recent entries, I changed requirements for making the list. Admittedly, most readers will know the following terms than was the case in parts one to three. Here the terms recent years – do not see every day, but not so lost to antiquity that "spell check" was perplexed. I hope you have enjoyed this series.
Gainsborough Hat
2. A large brimmed hat of the type worn by women in portraits by Gainsborough. In all, Gainsborough hat.
1878 Cassell's Fam. Mag. Aug. 569 / 2 carriers .. hat beef eater Gainsborough Rembrandt, and. 1884 [see cartwheel n. 5]. 1904 Westm. Gaz. August 12 5 / 1 Gainsborough improvised. 1928 Amer. Speeches IV. 92 We remember the Gainsborough hat.
Merry Widow Hat
2. a. Merry Widow hat full. A kind of brimmed hat adorned woman, usually made of straw and lined with feathers.
1908 Daily Chron. July 9 4.1 Women in the galleries took off their hats "Merry Widow" and waved frantically. 1909 Daily Chron. January 21 7 / 3 A big Merry Widow approval western model of China. 1956 KITCHIN CHB Secret River i. 61 Mrs Ashworth in a hat Merry Widow, where she thought she was lovely. 1986 G. O'HARA Encycl. Fashion Merry Widow 171 hats were fashionable for several years.
II. Special uses.
3. orig cap overseas. U.S. Mil., A cap peakless cloth worn by U.S. soldiers when serving overseas (in extended use) any army cap like that. Overseas Chinese, a Chinese immigrant, (also) a person of Chinese descent living outside China. experience abroad, (a) experience life and culture in a foreign country, (b) NZ (orig. humor) PERH [. influenced by the colonial experience colonial sv a. C.], an overseas working holiday, usually in Britain or Europe, led by young New Zealanders and freq. seen as an almost mandatory informal education; abbreviated OE.
[1918 Stars & Stripes, February 8 4 / 5 The officers' cap overseas will be the same model as that worn by men, but the hardware will be the officers' uniform.] 1918 Marine Mag. July 33 / 1 A special hat, officially known as the "ceiling * Overseas, is currently carried by soldiers and sailors of the American Expeditionary Force. Mag 1992 Philadelphia Inquirer. October 11 35 / 1 When he arrived in the Pacific in 1942 most naval officers were wearing caps or hats foreign officer.
Shingle
e. A style of women's short haircut, as in the bob, but with hair back in shingles (cf. v.1 SHINGLE 2a). In addition, the hair cut in this way.
February 1924 hairstyle (caption), based on the "shingles." 1927 FE BAILY Golden Vanity xvii. 265 Doris powdered face, combed his shingle dark, lit a cigarette, and picked up the cubes of beef. Pursuit 1945 N. Mitford's Love xx. 172 She had a short shingle color canaries (windswept) and was pants. 1975 G. HOWELL En Vogue 13 / 1 The small pitted bell made in the bob, which became the "shingles" or "bingle" twenties.
Cadogan
[Said from the name of the 1st Earl Cadogan (died 1726). See Littré, and N. & Q. Ser 7. IV. 467, 492.]
A mode of knotting the hair behind the head.
To c1780 B'NESS OBERKIRCH Mem. (1852) II. ix, the duchess of Bourbon had introduced at the court of Montbéliard .. [Fashion] Cadogan, hitherto worn only by gentlemen.
Juliet cap
[Female personal name (F. Juliet There. Giulietta), Julia Sun.]
Juliet cap (see quot. 1957).
1909 Westm. Gaz. Feb. 9 8 / 3 Juliet Their caps were composed violets. 1930 Daily Tel. April 7 7 / 6 The idea cap 'Juliet' is in the little theater hats worn abroad. 1957 MB Fashion Picken Dict. 49 / 2 cap Juliet, little round cap-end, open mesh, usually decorated with pearls or other jewelry, similar to that worn on the stage as Shakespeare's Juliet. Focused for the evening. 1973 Times 15 Nov. 6 / 3 The maid of honor .. wore a dress apron and hat jewelry Juliet.
Babushka
[Russ., Grandmother, f. baba (peasant) women.]
A head covering folded diagonally and tied under the chin, a scarf.
1938 Chatelaine Feb. 33 / 2 The babushka is a sort of peasant-hood that you wear on your pretty curls. 1948 F. Murder BROWN can be Fun (1951) vii. 106 She was wearing a babushka and mottled greenish stringy hair .. .. pushed ahead of it. October 1959 Meeting 32 / 2 A veil scarf tied babushka-style.
Fred Belinsky
target = "_new" rel = "nofollow" href = "http://www.VillageHatShop.com"> http://www.VillageHatShop.com
Fred Belinsky is the founder and president of The Village Hat Shop. The 4-store California chain is 27 years old. http://www.VillageHatShop.com, launched in early 1997, was the first online hat seller. Belinsky also runs http://www.Berets.com. Private label brands include Jaxon Hats, JaxonHats.com, and sur la tete, his line of women’s hats. More of Belinsky’s articles can be seen at the HAT BLOG: Everthing Hats. VillageHatShop.com also publishes THE COWBOY HAT, an ezine featuring short fiction, essays, and poetry about the American West and the Mexican-American Border.
