toque

American  

[tohk] / toʊk /

noun

1. a brimless and close-fitting hat for women, in any of several shapes.

2. a velvet hat with a narrow, sometimes turned-up brim, a full crown, and usually a plume, worn by men and women especially in 16th-century France.

3. a tall white hat with pleats, worn by chefs.

4. tuque.

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toque British  

/ təʊk /

noun

1. a woman's small round brimless hat, popular esp in Edwardian times

2. a hat with a small brim and a pouched crown, popular in the 16th century

3. same as tuque

4. a chef's tall white hat

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Etymology

Origin of toque

First recorded in 1495–1505; from French; replacing earlier toock, towk (from Portuguese touca “coif ”), tock, tocque (from Italian tocca “cap”), and toke (from Spanish toca “headdress”); further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

I don't care what some chef in a toque says about caramelizing onions; I want to hear the telephone cord cooking lowdown you'd warn your cousin about when she was making dinner.

From Salon

Other pieces in the collection, which ranges from $275 to $1,350, are a toque, reversible fleece jacket and reversible vest.

From Los Angeles Times

Outside, men chatted around a large metal wood-burning cooker with a stove pipe, two wearing chef’s toques.

From Seattle Times

When I was nine, for instance, I received an Emeril Lagasse-branded miniature chef’s uniform, complete with a starchy white coat and toque.

From Salon

Indeed, their cable car scenes don’t measure up to Mount Rainier, elevation 14,410 feet, when it wears a fluffy toque.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• hat
• helmet
• tiara
• turban