Phrygian cap

noun

1. a soft, conical cap represented in ancient Greek art as part of Phrygian dress and associated, since the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the liberty cap.

Phrygian cap

noun

1. a conical cap of soft material worn during ancient times that became a symbol of liberty during the French Revolution

Word History and Origins

Origin of Phrygian cap¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

This year’s Olympic mascots are the Phryge and the Paralympic Phryge, small creatures that resemble a Phrygian cap, a slightly drooping, cone-shaped hat typically associated with themes of liberty in European and colonial cultures.

From Salon

The Phrygian cap is an updated version of a conical hat worn in antiquity in places such as Persia, the Balkans, Thrace, Dacia and Phrygia, a place in modern day Turkey where the name originates.

From Seattle Times

At a time when European Union leaders express increasing concern about economic dependency on the world’s second-largest economy, the manufacturing of the stuffed toys shaped like a Phrygian cap is fueling criticism.

From Seattle Times

“The Phrygian cap embodies the ability we all have together when we collectively decide to rise up to strive for better,” Paris organizing committee brand director Julie Matikhine said.

From Seattle Times

Alternately, Columbia is depicted as a symbol of liberty, identifiable by her red, white and blue garments and her headgear, known as a Phrygian cap, a symbol of liberty worn by freed slaves in the Roman Empire and carried forward to the French Revolution.

From Slate