bonnet rouge

[ baw-ne roozh ]

noun

, French.

, plural bon·nets rouges [baw-ne , roozh].

1. a red liberty cap, worn by extremists during the French Revolution.
2. an extremist or radical.

bonnet rouge

/ bɔnɛ ruʒ /

noun

1. a red cap worn by ardent supporters of the French Revolution
2. an extremist or revolutionary

Word History and Origins

Origin of bonnet rouge¹

literally: red cap

Example Sentences

His riff on red asked if the colour of revolution was inspired by blood or by fire, and took in the bonnet rouge of the French Revolution, Garibaldi, Uruguayan butchers, bullfighters and Buddhism.

From The Guardian

Ung sainct homme habill� d'une robbe de taffetas noir et ung bonnet rouge.

From Project Gutenberg

Ung aultre petit double tableau, o� il y une jeusne fille, habill�e � la mode d'Espaigne, ayant ung bonnet rouge sur sa teste, l'aultre coust� plain d'escripture.

From Project Gutenberg

He was wearing a red cap which, in the sunlight, became him well; but he said playfully that Lady Tennyson disliked it as too suggestive of a “bonnet rouge.”

From Project Gutenberg

Democracy was his ideal, and democratic virtues won his admiration; indeed, he dared to flaunt the “bonnet rouge” of liberty in London streets in this agitated period, but after the Days of Terror in ’92 he tore off the white cockade and never again donned the Cap of Liberty.

From Project Gutenberg