1795–1805; < Turkish fes, after Fes Fez
A fez is a little round hat with a tassel on top. Fez is a French word that comes from the city of Fez in Morocco, where most of the hats were once made. A fez is always cylindrical and often red. Years ago, the fez was the official national hat of Turkey, and before that the Ottoman Empire. Turkey banned fezzes in the 1920s in an effort to become more modern. Today fezzes are typically worn by certain groups of Muslims and members of fraternal organizations such as the Shriners and the Elks.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Amanda Butler, from Hansons Auctioneers, said "it was the fez that made the show".
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2025
We have photos of my male ancestors wearing the fez and the Ottoman military uniform, but women were rarely photographed.
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2024
You catch some of his maverick character in the small 1830 graphite portrait by Bendz: in the disheveled collar, the squashy fez, the pipe extending casually from his lips.
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2023
That history helps explain why Sabbatai’s successor, Jacob Frank, dressed in Turkish fashion throughout his life, wearing curved shoes and a tall fez.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2022
He motions for Nuah to come closer and places the fez on top of his head.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
