shako

Where does the word "shako" come from? It comes from Hungarian csákó, passing through French before entering English (1810s).

Shako’s story begins in Hungarian: csákó meant “peaked cap.” Short for csákós süveg 'peaked cap', part of the hussar uniform copied across Europe's armies. By 1800s, the word had taken hold in French as shako. Napoleon's line infantry began replacing the bicorne hat with the shako from 1806. It reached English by 1810s as shako. British infantry fought at Waterloo in 1815 wearing the 'Belgic' shako introduced in 1812. Today, shako means a tall cylindrical military hat with a peak and plume.

1. Stage 1 · Hungarian · 1700s csákó "peaked cap", short for csákós süveg 'peaked cap', part of the hussar uniform copied across Europe's armies.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1800s shako "tall military cap", Napoleon's line infantry began replacing the bicorne hat with the shako from 1806.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1810s shako "tall military cap", British infantry fought at Waterloo in 1815 wearing the 'Belgic' shako introduced in 1812.