hatpin

[hat-pin]

noun

1. a long pin for securing a woman's hat to her hair, often having a bulbous decorative head of colored glass, simulated pearl, or the like.

hatpin

/ ˈhætˌpɪn /

noun

1. a sturdy pin used to secure a woman's hat to her hair, often having a decorative head

Word History and Origins

Origin of hatpin¹

First recorded in 1890–95; hat + pin

Example Sentences

I am too proud to eavesdrop, and so I could only wedge myself into the pearls, avoiding the hatpins, with Camilla’s garnet ring gouging into my back and Beatrice’s nose in my ear.

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And the Smithsonian Magazine reports that in the US, women used hatpins even in the 1900s to stab men who got too close for comfort.

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“Says the girl who impaled a man with her hatpins.”

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She fought with her own weapon — an 8-inch hatpin — while the other boys ran for help.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She reacted with wit to London’s nightly blackouts, sprinkling her pages with luminescent hatpins and brooches and a selection of jaunty gas mask totes.

Read more on New York Times