pith helmet

noun

1. a hat made of dried pith or cork covered with cloth, worn in the tropics.

pith helmet

noun

1. a lightweight hat made of pith that protects the wearer from the sun Also calledtopeetopi

Word History and Origins

Origin of pith helmet¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

In Belize, I once wrote about a hotel on a private island where I was greeted on a boat dock by smiling staff members all decked out in matching pith helmets — so colonial!

From Los Angeles Times

You can’t get up when that happens, so a stage manager in a pith helmet would come and drag them off.

From New York Times

In the show we find him turning the design for a divination board into a tea tray, and carving a portrait of a British official dressed in conspicuously snazzy Yoruba slippers and a pith helmet.

From New York Times

The whole genre has at least some of its origins in 19th century gentleman explorers in pith helmets gawking at Indigenous people.

From New York Times

One grainy picture shows a group clad in pith helmets surrounded by piles of palace art.

From Los Angeles Times