opera hat

American  

noun

1. a man's tall, collapsible top hat, held open or in shape by springs and usually covered with a black, silky fabric.

---

opera hat British  

noun

1. Also called: gibus.  a collapsible top hat operated by a spring

---

Etymology

Origin of opera hat

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

opera hat

"I know some members may feel that they look particularly fetching in the opera hat, but it really does make the House of Commons look ridiculous," she told MPs.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2015

The father's opera hat was put in the cornerstone and ten stained glass windows commemorated the operas he produced.

From Time Magazine Archive

Whistler once came searching for his opera hat.

From Forty Years of 'Spy' by Leslie Ward

So off he set with his opera hat, Heigho, says Rowley, And on the road he met with a rat.

From National Rhymes of the Nursery by Various

But I was so bewildered that all I could do was to seize a dress coat and an opera hat, with which I came downstairs, leaving all my papers and documents on the table.

From The Mapleson Memoirs, vol I 1848-1888 by James H. Mapleson