Where does “coolie hat” come from?
coolie hat (English) comes from English coolie, from Hindi क़ुली, from Turkish köle, from Ottoman Turkish كوله, from Proto-Turkic kȫle — slave, servant.
Ancestry of “coolie hat”, step by step
coolie hat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English coolie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | coolie | An unskilled Asian worker, usually of Chinese or... |
| 2 | Hindi | क़ुली | porter; coolie; migrant labourer; slave; servant |
| 3 | Turkish | köle | slave |
| 4 | Ottoman Turkish | كوله | male slave |
| 5 | Proto-Turkic | kȫle | slave, servant |
via English hat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | hat | A covering for the head, often in the approximate... |
| 2 | Middle English | hat | A hat or cap; a piece of headgear or headwear; A... |
| 3 | Old English | hæt | Alternative form of hætt; head-covering, hat |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hattuz | hat |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kadʰ- | to guard, cover, protect, care for; to guard,... |