skullcap

[ skuhl-kap ]

See synonyms for skullcap on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small, brimless close-fitting cap, often made of silk or velvet, worn on the crown of the head, as for religious functions.
the domelike roof of the skull.

Botany. any of various plants belonging to the genus Scutellaria, of the mint family, having a calyx resembling a helmet.

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Origin of skullcap

First recorded in 1675–85; skull + cap¹

Words Nearby skullcap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use skullcap in a sentence

A crew led by Dutch physician-turned-anthropologist Eugène Dubois had uncovered a skullcap and thigh bone.
The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors | Erin Wayman | December 2, 2021 | Science News For Students
In the 1890s, a crew led by Dutch physician-turned-anthropologist Eugène Dubois had uncovered a skullcap and thigh bone on the Indonesian island of Java.
Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins | Erin Wayman | September 15, 2021 | Science News
No one outside his inner circle had been made aware, because the cut could be hidden under his skullcap.
Conspiracy Theories: Why Did the Pope Really Quit? | Barbie Latza Nadeau | February 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He does not wear a skullcap, the most prominent marker of Orthodox observance.
Natan Sharansky Mediates Jerusalem’s Western Wall Dispute | Dan Ephron | February 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
And there this year was Melching, translating again, but this time the deep voice of Demba Diawara, an elderly imam in a skullcap.
A Weekend of Fearless Women: Tina Brown on Women in the World Summit | Tina Brown | March 12, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

The merchant debated, removing his skullcap, smoothing his grizzled fringe of curls, fitting the cap on again deliberately.
The Wrong Twin | Harry Leon Wilson
Solly Gumble removed his skullcap, fluffed his scanty ring of curls, and drew on the cap again.
The Wrong Twin | Harry Leon Wilson
Sir Peter, an old gentleman in a velvet skullcap, particularly enlarged upon the latter.
East Lynne | Mrs. Henry Wood
Five or six gentlemen, whom I recognized as the directors of the asylum, were standing round the steward in the black skullcap.
The Count's Millions | Emile Gaboriau
She had expected to find an old man with spectacles and a skullcap, the typical pawnbroker one sees in the moving pictures.
The Mystery of the Secret Band | Edith Lavell

British Dictionary definitions for skullcap

skullcap

/ (ˈskʌlˌkæp) /

noun

a rounded brimless hat fitting the crown of the head
the nontechnical name for calvaria

any of various perennial plants of the genus Scutellaria, esp S. galericulata, that typically have helmet-shaped flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

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

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