toque

American  

[tohk] / toʊk /

noun

toques plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• toques
  plural

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

Explanation

A toque is the tall hat that many professional chefs wear. Since the late 18th century, chef toques are almost always white. At one time, the color of your toque represented your rank in the kitchen. White was eventually chosen as the "most sanitary" color. You can also use toque to describe an old-fashioned women's hat with a narrow brim, or in Canada, a knitted winter cap. The origin of this word is uncertain, although some experts believe it stems from the Arabic word taqa, "opening."

Example Sentences

I know all the story of what your brother is toqué about.

From Red Hair by Glyn, Elinor

"Then what is he toqué about blue blood for, with a tache like that?"

From Red Hair by Glyn, Elinor

"Mais pardon, il est un petit peu toqué; he maintains, for instance, that district councils and arbitration boards are all of no use, and he is unwilling to take part in anything."

From Anna Karenina by Garnett, Constance

Then Yé tried to speak; but his teeth were so on edge that instead of saying,—"Tam ni pou tam ni bé," he could only stammer out:- —"Anni toqué Diabe-là cagnan."

From Two Years in the French West Indies by Hearn, Lafcadio

Meanwhile, Yé, like the old fool he was, kept trying to say what the Bon-Dié had told him, and could only mumble:— —"Anni toqué Diabe-là cagnan!"

From Two Years in the French West Indies by Hearn, Lafcadio

Related Words

• hat
• helmet
• tiara
• turban