hat

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A covering for the head, often with a brim.

   She wore a wide straw hat to keep the sun off her face.

2. 2
   noun

   A particular role or job that a person takes on.

   As a manager, I sometimes have to wear my disciplinarian hat.

3. 3
   verb

   To put a hat on someone or something.

   The actor was hatted and dressed for his stage role.

From Middle English hat, from Old English hætt, from Proto-Germanic *hattuz (“hat”), perhaps from a late PIE root Proto-Indo-European *kedʰ- (“to guard, cover, care for, protect”) or wanderwort. Cognate with North Frisian hat (“hat”), Danish hat (“hat”), Swedish hatt (“hat”), Icelandic hattur (“hat”), Finnish hattu (“hat”), Latin cassis (“helmet”), Lithuanian kudas (“bird's crest or tuft”), Avestan 𐬑𐬀𐬊𐬛𐬀 (xaoda, “hat”), Persian خود (xud, “helmet”), Welsh cadw (“to provide for, ensure”). Compare also hood.

Topics