silk hat
1
3.9
- noun
- /sɪlk hæt/
:
sombrero de copa
- Inside was a high black silk hat, a bit worn around the inner band, but otherwise in excellent condition.
- a tall silk hat
- wear a silk hat
- a black silk hat
Examples
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Who has left an extremely shiny silk hat on the hall table?
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Uncle Sam was always clothed in a formal dress coat and silk hat, surrounded by an American flag.
Academic text (1990) -
And silk hats suddenly became the fashion.
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I had a silk hat once in Budapest.
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A black silk hat.
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He wore a silk hat, and when he smiled, you could see the new gold rim and blue jewel on his front tooth.
Fiction book (2002) -
He dressed scrupulously; the tux with the many secret pockets, the scarlet-lined cape, the high silk hat.
Fiction book (1990) -
On the ground, laid in some semblance of decency, was the body of a man of late middle age, dressed in sober clothes of excellent quality, with a silk hat beside him on the pavement.
Fiction book (1990) -
He took down a maroon silk hat with peacock feathers, walked on tiptoe, and set the hat gently on my mother's head.
Fiction book (1992) -
At the gala, everyone wore a silk hat to signify their formal attire.
Synonyms
17
4.3
A tall hat with a flat top and straight sides worn with formal clothes
1
9.3
A tall hat with a straight high top once worn by men at formal events
1
9.6
A tall hat with straight sides that people wear with formal clothes in the 1800s
A tall formal hat with a flat top worn by men
A tall round hat for men worn on formal occasions
A tall formal hat for men often covered with silk or fur and worn with a formal suit
A classic formal hat like a top hat worn at weddings and ceremonies
A formal men's hat with a tall foldable crown worn to the theatre
A tall shiny silk hat like a top hat worn in older times
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward material + object combination: 'silk' specifies the material of the 'hat', so a learner who knows both words will infer it is a hat made of silk. This adjective-noun compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and requires no idiomatic or metaphorical knowledge (though the specific historical sense 'top hat' is a cultural detail that does not prevent transparency).
Etymology
Silk hat comes from the tall, formal hat once covered in fine silk that rich men wore for special events, and people also called it a 'top hat'. That's why silk hat means a formal, tall men's hat today.