mortarboard

[ mawr-ter-bawrd, -bohrd ]

noun

1. a board, usually square, used by masons to hold mortar.
2. Also called cap. a cap with a close-fitting crown surmounted by a stiff, flat, square piece from which a tassel hangs, worn as part of academic costume.

mortarboard

/ ˈmɔːtəˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a black tasselled academic cap with a flat square top covered with cloth
2. Also calledhawk a small square board with a handle on the underside for carrying mortar

Word History and Origins

Origin of mortarboard¹

First recorded in 1850–55; mortar ² + board

Example Sentences

The ceremony at Georgetown University on Wednesday opened with the familiar strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” as graduates, wearing robes and mortarboards with tassels, filed into the auditorium.

From Washington Post

Backstage earlier, McCaskill had given me tips on how to bobby pin the mortarboard cap to my head.

From The Daily Beast

Mr. Worthington pushed back his mortarboard and revealed the crimson chevron which it had bitten into his bald brow.

From Project Gutenberg

A right instinct sent him tiptoe over his lawn, another made him doff his mortarboard.

From Project Gutenberg

As for the mortarboard and gown, undergraduate opinion rather requires that they be left behind.

From Project Gutenberg