tricorn
Americanadjective
noun
noun
-
a cocked hat with opposing brims turned back and caught in three places
-
an imaginary animal having three horns
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tricorn
1750–60; < Latin tricornis having three horns, equivalent to tri- tri- + corn ( ū ) horn + -is adj. suffix
Explanation
A tricorn is an old-fashioned men's hat with three points, or corners. If you've ever seen the famous portrait of George Washington crossing the Delaware River, you know just what a tricorn looks like. The first few United States presidents wore tricorns, which became less popular toward the end of the eighteenth century. Before that, European men favored them because their turned-up brims kept rain off their faces and shoulders. The Greek word for "three" is treis, the root of the tri part of tricorn. Corn is in this example related to corner, and both words come from the Latin cornu, or "horn."
Vocabulary lists containing tricorn
Cold Cereal
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The Tower of Nero
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Midnight Rider
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
McDonald’s sold red, white and blue milkshakes, Burger King offered a flag-bedecked series of glass tumblers, Disney characters wore tricorn hats for a line of park merchandise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
His wool coat trailed behind him and his auburn hair was set into four exacting curls beneath a tricorn hat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Bellowing "Silence, everyone!" to terrified parliamentarians, the man with a bushy moustache and shiny tricorn quickly caught the public's attention in an image engraved on the nation's collective memory.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
I don my tricorn hat and declare this "poppycock."
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2022
She flung it wide again, standing this time fully dressed, a gilt-edged tricorn on her head, and in her hands riding-whip and gloves.
From The Reckoning by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
