trilby

[ tril-bee ]

/ ˈtrɪl bi /

noun, plural tril·bies. Chiefly British.

a hat of soft felt with an indented crown.

Nearby words

Origin of trilby

1895–1900; short for Trilby hat, after the hat worn by a character in an illustration for the novel Trilby (1894) by George du Maurier

Also called trilby hat.

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

Examples from the Web for trilby

But our friends did not think it necessary to reveal that she was "la grande Trilby."
Trilby|George Du Maurier
The "boom" of Trilby, we are told, surprised du Maurier immensely, for he had not taken himself au sérieux as a novelist.
George Du Maurier, the Satirist of the Victorians|T. Martin Wood
Trilby was a name that had long lain perdu somewhere "at the back of du Maurier's head."
George Du Maurier, the Satirist of the Victorians|T. Martin Wood
The hypnotism in 'Trilby' was perhaps a journalist's idea, that subject being much talked of at the time the book was written.
Library of the World's Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12|Various

Mr. du Maurier has rich endowment of all these gifts, which shine on every page of Trilby.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, October 13, 1894|Various

British Dictionary definitions for trilby

trilby

/ (ˈtrɪlbɪ) /

noun plural -bies

mainly British a man's soft felt hat with an indented crown

(plural) slang feet

Word Origin for trilby

C19: named after Trilby, the heroine of a dramatized novel (1893) of that title by George du Maurier

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 trilby

trilby

type of hat, 1897, from name of Trilby O'Ferrall, eponymous heroine of the novel by George du Maurier (1834-1896), published in 1894. In the stage version of the novel, the character wore this type of soft felt hat. In plural, also slang for "feet" (1895), in reference to the eroticism attached to the heroine's bare feet.