Phrygian cap

American  

noun

1. a soft, conical cap represented in ancient Greek art as part of Phrygian dress and associated, since the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the liberty cap.

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Phrygian cap British  

noun

1. a conical cap of soft material worn during ancient times that became a symbol of liberty during the French Revolution

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Etymology

Origin of Phrygian cap

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

This year’s Olympic mascots are the Phryge and the Paralympic Phryge, small creatures that resemble a Phrygian cap, a slightly drooping, cone-shaped hat typically associated with themes of liberty in European and colonial cultures.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2024

The Phrygian cap is an updated version of a conical hat worn in antiquity in places such as Persia, the Balkans, Thrace, Dacia and Phrygia, a place in modern day Turkey where the name originates.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2022

The text and images on this ballot—including the dove, cannon, and Phrygian cap symbols, typical of the era—appear blurry because of misaligned registration in the color plates, a product of lower-quality printing.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 5, 2018

He has also often revisited the soft Phrygian cap, which became a symbol of anti-loyalist resistance during the French Revolution.

From New York Times • Aug. 15, 2018

Now might come a Saxon wearing the beard and a sort of Phrygian cap, as a sign of defiance—now a knight from the Marches of the Northern border.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White