liberty cap
- noun
- /ˈlɪbərti kæp/
- Archaic
:
gorro de la libertad
- During the celebrations, marchers proudly wore liberty caps to honor the principles of the revolution.
Examples
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In the museum, the liberty cap from the 18th century is displayed as a prominent symbol of American freedom.
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The Indian woman holds a liberty pole on which has been placed a liberty cap, creating a South American reconfiguration of the French and United States symbol.
Academic text (2013) -
The statue of liberty features a liberty cap on her head, symbolizing freedom and independence.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A shaped covering for the head with a brim worn for warmth, protection, or style
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'liberty' + 'cap' yields a cap associated with or symbolizing liberty, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a hat representing freedom. While the precise historical form (the Phrygian/conical shape and revolutionary context) may be unknown, the core meaning is transparent from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun liberty cap comes from a soft, pointed hat that freed people in ancient Rome wore to show they were free. People later put that hat on a pole or in pictures during the French Revolution as a clear sign of 'freedom', so the liberty cap became a common sign of 'freedom' on statues, coins, and flags.