tam-o'-shanter

[ tam-uh-shan-ter, tam-uh-shan-ter ]

noun
  1. a cap of Scottish origin, usually made of wool, having a round, flat top that projects all around the head and has a pompon at its center.

Origin of tam-o'-shanter

1
First recorded in 1880–85; named after the hero of Tam O'Shanter (1791), poem by Robert Burns
  • Also called tam.

Words Nearby tam-o'-shanter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tam-o'-shanter in a sentence

  • She was neatly dressed in a grey walking suit, and a velvet Tam-o-shanter hat with a smart feather.

    Mysterious Mr. Sabin | E. Phillips Oppenheim
  • Bess had donned her fluffy brown tam-o-shanter and stood on the veranda.

    The Brand | Therese Broderick
  • The rain was trickling from her Tam-o-Shanter; but she was oblivious of all, save the far remote danger.

    Hester's Counterpart | Jean K. Baird
  • She ran and put on her long grey coat and her red tam-o-shanter.

    The White Peacock | D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

British Dictionary definitions for tam-o'-shanter

tam-o'-shanter

/ (ˌtæməˈʃæntə) /


noun
  1. a Scottish brimless wool cap with a bobble in the centre, usually worn pulled down at one side: Also called: tam, tammy

Origin of tam-o'-shanter

1
C19: named after the hero of Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter (1790)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012