pith helmet

noun

1. a hat made of dried pith or cork covered with cloth, worn in the tropics.

pith helmet

noun

1. Also called: topee.  topi. a lightweight hat made of pith that protects the wearer from the sun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pith helmet¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

He wore a pith helmet that had been painted to match the balloon’s bright patchwork of colors and patterns, with a small, brave flag flying on top.

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He wore khaki trousers tucked into tall leather boots, a safari jacket, and a pith helmet.

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It also speaks to her love of hats, which has sometimes got her in trouble – for example her widely criticised colonial-style pith helmet on safari in Kenya.

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In Belize, I once wrote about a hotel on a private island where I was greeted on a boat dock by smiling staff members all decked out in matching pith helmets — so colonial!

Read more on Los Angeles Times

You can’t get up when that happens, so a stage manager in a pith helmet would come and drag them off.

Read more on New York Times