milliner
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of milliner
First recorded in 1520–30; variant of obsolete Milaner “native of Milan, dealer in goods from Milan” ( Milan was formerly accented on the first syllable); see -er 1
Explanation
A milliner is someone who designs or makes hats, especially women’s hats. Milliners usually sell hats too. The noun milliner is a somewhat outdated word for a hat maker — it refers to someone whose business is to design, make, decorate, or sell hats. You might go to a milliner before your trip to South America, to buy a large-brimmed sun hat. The earliest meaning of the word milliner, from the fifteenth century, was "vendor of fancy wares, especially those made in Milan," though by the eighteenth century it meant "one who sells women's hats."
Vocabulary lists containing milliner
Put a Lid On It: Hats, Hoods, and Other Headgear
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The Downstairs Girl
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The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There were the bespoke Philip Treacy hats that revisited a technique the milliner has honed for years, with feathers forming typography in words like “Buzz” and “Flow,” worn with some of the men’s looks.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
A milliner landed a commission of a lifetime after Lady Gaga ordered four hats from her, and she said the "knock-on effects have been massive".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2024
The son of a milliner, Bohan was asked to lead the French label after his predecessor Yves Saint Laurent was drafted into the French military in 1960.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
His father managed cargo on freighter ships and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his service in the Canadian Army during World War II. His mother was a milliner.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2023
When I went inside, there was the new milliner, seated at a table littered with feathers, bird wings, satin bows, stiff tape, bolts of velvet, linen, silk, and so on, and several life-size dummy heads.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
