Hatbox

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A stiff container, often round, designed for storing or transporting a hat without crushing it
2. A rigid case made to hold a hat so that its shape is kept safe during travel or storage
3. A box, usually cylindrical, built specifically to protect hats from damage when carried or kept

Etymology: The word "hatbox" is a plain compound: "hat" plus "box," with no surprises in its construction. Its more interesting story lies in the second half. "Box" travelled a long road to English. It begins with the Greek "pyxos," the name of the boxwood tree, whose wood was prized for making small containers. The Greeks derived "pyxis," a small box, from it, and Late Latin took that as "buxis," which passed into Old English as "box." The tree and the container thus share one ancestry, and the Old English word described the wood before it described the container made from it. The word "hat" is much older in English and needs no such detour. Together the two parts describe exactly what the object is: a box made to hold a hat. Such boxes were a familiar piece of luggage and furniture in households that owned several hats at once, which is why the compound is so transparent.

Synonyms: bandbox