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cloth cap

cloth cap

1 2.7
A flat hat made of cloth with a small stiff front
  • noun
  • /klɒθ kæp/
translation icon : gorro de tela
  • The old man wore a grey cloth cap as he strolled through the market.
  • wearing a cloth cap
  • man in a cloth cap

Examples

  • Pulling his cloth cap down over his eyes, he started to do a shuffling sort of tap dance there on the flagstones, his feet dancing to the floor, his arms down at his sides.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "A little before two, Burke shut down the taps and sent the handful of customers on their way, all but the little old man in the cloth cap.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He is thin, shabbily dressed, and wearing a cloth cap.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • He was wearing a plain, dark-blue cape and a cloth cap.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • And here I am, on a cart, a young pioneer in a gray cloth cap and a dirty white shirt, all his possessions tied up in a bundle on his knees.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "You better watch where you're runnin'!" yelled a towheaded boy in a cloth cap.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Their pigtails and round cloth caps were bobbing in time, and they were oblivious to Mont's stare.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The people sitting next to the piles of stones in their dusty clothes and dark cloth caps looked from a distance like flies on cones of sugar.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • And a few elderly people, men and women, including one who was a dead ringer for the murderous Eamonn Dougherty, right down to the cloth cap.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • They stood with their hands deep in the pockets of baggy pants, wearing oversized cloth caps that reminded Roland of the berets the cadets wore at school.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

cap
vscloth cap
175 1.0

A soft hat that fits the head, often with a small brim

refers to a specific stiff-brimmed wool type rather than any soft head covering
flat cap
vscloth cap
1 3.4

A rounded hat with a small stiff brim at the front, often made of wool or tweed

has a flatter crown instead of a rounded top

How Formal

bowler
8 6.7
trilby
1 8.4
cloth cap
1 2.7
baseball cap
45 1.2
beanie
18 3.4

Surface Forms

cloth cap singular
cloth caps plural

Morphology

cloth + cap

The meaning 'a cap made of cloth' is directly derivable from combining 'cloth' (textile) with 'cap' (head covering); the first element clearly specifies the material of the second. This material+object noun-compound pattern is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Cloth cap: The noun cloth cap comes from the simple, flat hat that workers often wore, made of cloth, a soft fabric, with a small stiff front so the cap kept rain and sun out. That's why cloth cap means 'a flat cap made of wool or similar fabric, with a stiff peak'.