hat

The crown, the cylindrical section that rises like a column from the center of the hat that rests on the head. On hats with a firm, well-defined crown, there may be a hatband fastened into place with a bow,. Caps generally have soft cloth crowns. The brim is the plate-shaped bottom of the hat which shades the eyes. The binding is the stitching around the brim which seals the brim. Some specialty hats, like the hunting cap, have ear flaps.

information gathered from my favorite of all reference books: The Macmillan Visual Dictionary

hat n.

Common (spoken) name for the circumflex (`^', ASCII 1011110) character. See ASCII for other synonyms.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

Hat, the principal head covering of the human family, distinguished from the cap or bonnet by having a brim around it. The hat, as a roomy brimmed head-covering, is the direct descendant of the petasus of the ancient Greeks.

The use of felted hats became known in England about the period of the Norman Conquest. The merchant in Chaucer's Prologue to the "Canterbury Tales" is described as having "on his hed a flaundrish bever hat." About the period of Queen Elizabeth, beaver felts in many shapes became common, and for three centuries thereafter fine beaver hats, mostly dyed black, formed the head covering of the higher classes in Great Britain. But now, though felt hats are the everyday wear of the community, there is no longer such a thing as a genuine beaver hat.

The wearing of beaver hats was common in America far into the present century. They often lasted a man a lifetime, and were sometimes bequeathed by will to heirs. Interesting specimens can be seen in the old Boston State House.

The manufacture of silk hats as a substitute for piled beavers was first attempted about 1810, but it was not till 1830 that silk plush hats were successfully made. Manufacture of straw hats forms an entirely distinct branch of the hat trade.

Hat (?), a.

Hot.

Chaucer.

© Webster 1913.

Hat,

sing. pres. of Hote to be called. Cf.

Piers Plowman.

© Webster 1913.

Hat (?), n. [AS. haet, haett; akin to Dan. hat, Sw. hatt, Icel. hattr a hat, hottr hood, D. hoed hat, G. hut, OHG. huot, and prob. to L. cassis helmet. . Cf.Hood.]

A covering for the head; esp., one with a crown and brim, made of various materials, and worn by men or women for protecting the head from the sun or weather, or for ornament.

Hat block, a block on which hats are formed or dressed. -- To pass around the hat, to take up a collection of voluntary contributions, which are often received in a hat. [Collog.]

Lowell.

© Webster 1913.