bonnet

[ bon-it ]

See synonyms for bonnet on Thesaurus.com

noun

a hat, usually tying under the chin and often framing the face, formerly much worn by women but now worn mostly by children.
Informal. any hat worn by women.

Chiefly Scot. a man's or boy's cap.
a bonnetlike headdress: an Indian war bonnet.
any of various hoods, covers, or protective devices.
a cowl, hood, or wind cap for a fireplace or chimney, to stabilize the draft.
the part of a valve casing through which the stem passes and that forms a guide and seal for the stem.
a chamber at the top of a hot-air furnace from which the leaders emerge.
Chiefly British. an automobile hood.
Nautical. a supplementary piece of canvas laced to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail, especially a jib, in light winds.

verb (used with object)

to put a bonnet on.

Origin of bonnet

1375–1425; late Middle English bonet<Middle French; Old French bonet material from which hats are made, perhaps <Old Low Franconian *bunni something bound (<Germanic *bund-, noun derivative of *bind-bind; cf. bundle), with -et-et; compare Late Latin abonnis, obbonis ribbon forming part of a headdress <Germanic, with a prefix corresponding to Middle High German obe-above

Other words from bonnet

bon·net·less, adjective
bon·net·like, adjective

Other definitions for Bonnet (2 of 2)

Bonnet

[ baw-ne ]

noun

Georges [zhawrzh], /ʒɔrʒ/, 1889–1973, French statesman.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bonnet in a sentence

Leather bonnets that marked the early 19th century gave way to styled hair and lavishly veiled hats of the 20th century.
The Best-Dressed Way to Say Goodbye | Justin Jones | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“We understand why people are attracted to war bonnets,” Bass Coast organizers said in a statement.
Cara Delevingne Is Topshop’s Solo Star; Music Festival Bans War Bonnets | The Fashion Beast Team | July 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bonnets to wide brims, pillboxes to cloches, a lady always wore a hat.
A Breast Cancer Alphabet: F Is For Fashion Accessories | Madhulika Sikka | February 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The shaky two-minute video shows Rudyard, Desmond, and Oscar, dressed in tiny bonnets, wrapped in blankets.
Parents of Stillborn Babies Post Hundreds of Memorials to YouTube | Brandy Zadrozny | November 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The women wear bonnets made out of old soda bottles and feed bags.
Book of Mormon's Magnificent Costumes | Isabel Wilkinson | April 15, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

She herself had worn them in her youth, and they were the proper bonnets for "growing girls."
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
Some of the women had black satin blouses on, and European bonnets of an exceedingly ancient date.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
It would not be easy to find a more ugly sight than that of their plump, heavy heads and faces in these old-fashioned bonnets.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida Pfeiffer
The bridesmaids should wear white dresses, white mantles, and bonnets, but not veils or orange flowers.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence Hartley
Throw your plaids, sticks, and bonnets behind that bush, my lads—well out of sight—so.
Hunted and Harried | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for bonnet

bonnet

/ (ˈbɒnɪt) /

noun

any of various hats worn, esp formerly, by women and girls, usually framing the face and tied with ribbons under the chin
Also called: (in Scotland) bunnet (ˈbʌnɪt)
- a soft cloth cap
- formerly, a flat brimless cap worn by men

the hinged metal part of a motor vehicle body that provides access to the engine, or to the luggage space in a rear-engined vehicle
a cowl on a chimney
nautical a piece of sail laced to the foot of a foresail to give it greater area in light winds
(in the US and Canada) a headdress of feathers worn by some tribes of American Indians, esp formerly as a sign of war

Origin of bonnet

C14: from Old French bonet, from Medieval Latin abonnis, of unknown origin

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

Scientific definitions for Bonnet

Bonnet

[ bô-nĕ′ ]

Swiss naturalist who discovered parthenogenesis when he observed that aphid eggs could develop without fertilization. Bonnet was also one of the first scientists to study photosynthesis.

Other Idioms and Phrases with bonnet

bonnet

see bee in one's bonnet.

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