Phrase guide

fool's cap

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A cap, usually brightly colored with bells and tassels, as worn by a court jester or fool.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a cone-shaped paper hat formerly placed on the head of slow or lazy pupils

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dunce cap, dunce's cap

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hat, chapeau, lid

History

Etymology

From fool + -'s + cap.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: sotskap — cap with bells and tassels
  • Afrikaans: narrekap — cap with bells and tassels
  • Chinese Mandarin: 小丑帽 (xiǎochǒumào) — cap with bells and tassels
  • Dutch: zotskap — cap with bells and tassels
  • Dutch: narrenkap — cap with bells and tassels
  • Finnish: narrinhattu — cap with bells and tassels
  • French: bonnet de fou — cap with bells and tassels
  • French: bonnet de bouffon — cap with bells and tassels
  • German: Narrenkappe — cap with bells and tassels
  • Italian: berretto a sonagli — cap with bells and tassels
  • Italian: berretto da giullare — cap with bells and tassels
  • Norwegian Bokmål: narrelue — cap with bells and tassels
  • Norwegian Bokmål: narrehette — cap with bells and tassels
  • Polish: czapka błazna — cap with bells and tassels
  • Portuguese: carapuça com guizos — cap with bells and tassels
  • Russian: шутовско́й колпа́к (šutovskój kolpák) — cap with bells and tassels
  • Russian: дура́цки́й колпа́к (duráckíj kolpák) — cap with bells and tassels
  • Swedish: narrmössa — cap with bells and tassels