turban

[tur-buh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR turban ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a man's headdress worn chiefly by Muslims in southern Asia, consisting of a long cloth of silk, linen, cotton, etc., wound either about a cap or directly around the head.

any headdress resembling this.

any of various off-the-face hats for women that are close-fitting, of a soft fabric, and brimless, or that have a narrow, sometimes draped, brim.

Origin of turban

1555–65; earlier torbant, variant of tulbant < Turkish tülbent < Persian dulband

Related formstur·baned, adjectivetur·ban·less, adjectivetur·ban·like, adjectiveun·tur·baned, adjective

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

Related Words for turban

hat, bandana, cap, lungi

Examples from the Web for turban

Contemporary Examples of turban

For the unfamiliar, Sikhs are required by their faith to wear a turban, known as the Dastaar.
New York’s Sikhs Need Their Own Al Sharpton
Dean Obeidallah
August 8, 2014
Prior to 9/11, wearing a beard a turban may have been at times challenging.
New York’s Sikhs Need Their Own Al Sharpton
Dean Obeidallah
August 8, 2014
Half the time, we had to fight the refs to allow him to play in his turban.
The NCAA’s First Sikh Basketball Player Memorialized at the Smithsonian
Simran Jeet Singh
March 1, 2014
Sixteen years old and she wore a turban with a rhinestone in the middle of it.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview
Alex Belth
February 16, 2014
When the average American meets my husband, with his beard and turban, they immediately view him as foreign.
My Sexy American Sikh Valentine
Jesse Bawa
February 14, 2014

Historical Examples of turban

He's so dignified I wish his turban would blow off or something.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
With that she entered the room, threw back her mantle and took off her turban.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
Turban and shasheeah had fallen off, and the bald crown of his head was bare.
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
It slid up into her hair and finally twisted itself about it in a turban.
The Trimming of Goosie
James Hopper
In order to be more at his ease, Yoga Rama removed his turban.
Telepathy
W. W. Baggally

British Dictionary definitions for turban

turban

noun

a man's headdress, worn esp by Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs, made by swathing a length of linen, silk, etc, around the head or around a caplike base

a woman's brimless hat resembling this

any headdress resembling this

Derived Formsturbaned, adjectiveturban-like, adjective

Word Origin for turban

C16: from Turkish tülbend, from Persian dulband

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 turban

1560s, from Middle French turbant, from Italian turbante (Old Italian tolipante), from Turkish tülbent "gauze, muslin, tulle," from Persian dulband "turban." The change of -l- to -r- may have taken place in Portuguese India and thence been picked up in other European languages. A men's headdress in Muslim lands, it was popular in Europe and America c.1776-1800 as a ladies' fashion.