hennin

[ hen-in ]

noun

1. a conical or heart-shaped hat, sometimes extremely high, with a flowing veil or piece of starched linen about the crown, worn by women in the 15th century.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hennin¹

1850–55; < French, Middle French, perhaps < Middle Dutch henninck rooster, from a fancied resemblance of the hat to a rooster's comb

Example Sentences

No doubt ladies were just human in those days, and fussed and frittered over an inch or so of hennin, or a yard or two of train.

From Project Gutenberg

He was also the sculptor of the mausoleum of Bishop Antoine de Hennin, erected in 1622 in the choir.

From Project Gutenberg

Wearing a hennin on her head, she was praying on bended knees before a stained-glass window.

From Project Gutenberg

The single hennin was often two or three feet in height; the double one perhaps nearly as wide.

From Project Gutenberg

Her coif was the tall medieval hennin of Plougastel, a flood of lace falling from its summit.

From Project Gutenberg