Hats

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /hæts/

Definitions

1. A head covering made from diverse materials, often used for protection or style
2. An accessory worn atop the head, which can reflect personal taste, purpose, or cultural significance
3. A garment worn on the head typically used to shield from weather or as a fashion item

Etymology: "Hats" is simply the plural of "hat," so the story belongs to the singular. The noun is ancient in the Germanic languages: Old English had "hætt," and cognates appear across the North Sea and Scandinavia, including Danish and Swedish "hat," Icelandic "hattur," and Finnish "hattu." Those forms all point to a common ancestor in the Germanic family, and the trail is not fully clear beyond that. The word's neighbours are more revealing. Latin "cassis" meant "helmet," and Persian "xud" meant "helmet" too, so across several languages the earliest sense of the word's relatives was armour for the head rather than a fashionable covering. Old English "hood" is a close relative, which makes sense: both words probably began as ways of covering the head for protection.

Synonyms: caps, headgear, headwear, toppers, fedoras