pith helmet
2
7.3
- noun
- /pɪθ ˈhɛlmɪt/
:
casco de paja
- Insiders portrayed them as heroes, forever slogging through distant jungles, it seemed, pith helmet in one hand and Bible in the other.
Examples
-
An officer of the German colonial forces in a white tunic with gold buttons and a tropical pith helmet.
Fiction book (2000) -
We crossed the street to the department store, where, in the work clothes section, my father chose a pith helmet.
Fiction book (1999) -
The officer removed his pith helmet.
Fiction book (2000) -
I mean, somewhere I've got a picture of her in a pith helmet.
-
It'll be a chance to wear your new pith helmet the kids gave you for Christmas.
Fiction book (1993) -
"They'd looked at each other and ordered a pith helmet."
Fiction book (1993) -
His pith helmet lay on the ground next to him, upside down, rocking on its crown.
Fiction book (1993) -
The only other movement on the block was the mailman in a blue pith helmet pushing his three-wheeled cart down the sidewalk.
Fiction book (1994) -
At the end, the governor had put his white pith helmet back on and commented to the young schoolteacher who was accompanying him—my grandfather—"Not a bad show."
Fiction book (2000) -
In the scorching sun, she put on her pith helmet to protect herself from the heat.
Synonyms
14
1.3
A hat made of straw that protects the face from the sun
1
1.0
A hat with a wide brim that protects your face from the sun
1
1.0
A hat with a wide brim that protects your face and neck from the sun
A lightweight hat made from thin plant material that protects you from the sun
A light hat worn in hot countries to protect from the sun
A lightweight hat with a wide brim that protects the head and neck from the sun
How Protective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'pith' names the plant-derived material and 'helmet' names a protective head covering, so the phrase literally denotes a helmet made of pith (a lightweight sun hat). This follows a common noun–noun formation and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Pith helmet gets its name from the soft plant material pith, which was used to make a light, hard shell, and the word helmet because it covers the head. So a pith helmet is a light sun hat made to protect people in hot places.