shako

or shack·o

[shak-oh, shey-koh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shako ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural shak·os or shack·os, shak·oes or shack·oes.

a military cap in the form of a cylinder or truncated cone, with a visor and a plume or pompon.

Origin of shako

1805–15; < French schako < Hungarian csákó, short for csákós (süveg) peaked (cap), adj. derivative of csák peak < Middle High German zacke peak, point; see tack¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shako

armor, hat, busby, kepi

Examples from the Web for shako

Historical Examples of shako

It was true that I had been to blame for taking the soldier's shako, but after all, he had commenced.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
He sprang up with a loud oath, and knocked my shako off my head.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever
If I had but a frock and a shako, thought I, I could make my way.
Maurice Tiernay Soldier of Fortune
Charles James Lever
The young man let fall his shako from his hand, and laid it on his sword-hilt.
Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II (of II)
Charles James Lever
Two of these had the number of their regiment on their shako.
Under Wellington's Command
G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for shako

shako

shacko

noun plural shakos, shakoes, shackos or shackoes

a tall usually cylindrical military headdress, having a plume and often a peak, popular esp in the 19th century

Word Origin for shako

C19: via French from Hungarian csákó, from Middle High German zacke a sharp point

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shako

cylindrical soldier's hat with plume, 1815, from Hungarian csákó, short for csákós süveg "peaked cap," from adjectival form of csáko "peak, projecting point of a cow's horn," which some European etymologists derive from German zacken "point, spike," but which Hungarian sources regard as of unknown origin.