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.
Showtown puts a spotlight on the town's rich history as the seaside home of showbiz, with other exhibits including George Formby's ukulele, Tommy Cooper's fez and Peter Kay's purple suit.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024
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
Capped with a fez, speaking some sort of French patois, Mitchell brings his own campy aura to the movie, including the portentous punchline: “Choice is a Western concept.”
From New York Times ● May 24, 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
Crescents, stars, moons and suns were in goldthread embroidery on the small fez that Elijah Muhammad wore.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
"I pray to God for his safe return," she said, having travelled all the way from Fez, some 200 kilometres away.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Thanks to his breakout role as Fez on “That 70’s Show,” Valderrama was already well-known before joining “NCIS” and he’s noticed which role fans recognize him for has changed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
Fez, in north-eastern Morocco, is one of the North African nation's oldest cities, with parts dating back to the 8th Century, as well as being its third-most populous.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025
In the same town, 19-year-old student Imane ait Said looked over the rubble of her house after returning from the city of Fez where she was studying.
From Reuters ● Sep. 13, 2023
A group of Jews who tried to sail south from the port of Cádiz to the kingdom of Fez died in a terrible fire.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
During the American Civil War, swashbuckling soldiers known as “Zouaves” wore Turkish-style fezes with flowing tassels.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2012
With them were two officers in long grey cloaks and fezes.
From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
On approaching we discovered a detachment of Tirailleurs from Algiers, sitting in groups, and the "poppies" were the red fezes of the men—a gorgeous blending of crimson and gold.
From The White Road to Verdun by Burke, Kathleen
From the pulpit the great Mohammedan audience, with its red fezes, its green and white turbans, seemed to Khalid like a verdant field overgrown with daisies and poppies.
From The Book of Khalid by Rihani, Ameen Fares
The materials of the most gorgeous men’s coats were imported from Paris—and their fezes chiefly came from Lincoln & Bennett’s in London.
From Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life by Child-Villiers, Margaret Elizabeth Leigh
The Shriners would become known for their philanthropy — funding children’s hospitals — but they would also be known for their zanier side: donning fezzes and zipping around in tiny cars.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2023
He’s saved a few fancy outfits and fezzes that Guy used to wear during solo and band jobs at restaurants such as Haji Baba’s in Inglewood and Arabian Nights in Fresno.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2021
“I’m pretty sure slide whistles are going to take off,” he adds, sounding a bit like Doctor Who trying to convince Amy Pond that fezzes are cool.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 7, 2017
Millions of rubber trees stood in martial rows, their catchment buckets resembling red fezzes.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 14, 2016
We passed a long column of loaded mules, the drivers walking along beside the mules wearing red fezzes.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
