Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A helmet, especially an ornate visorless headpiece of the 16th century.
- n. Zoology A helmetlike structure or protuberance.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A helmet of any kind.
- n. In zoology, some process or formation on the head resembling a helmet; a galea. Especially applied in ornithology to the horn of the bill of the horn-bills, and to the frontal boss or shield of various birds, as coots, gallinules, and sundry species of the family Icteridæ. The head of the cassowary, Casuarius galeatus, offers a good example. See cut under
cassowary .
Wiktionary
- n. A visorless helmet.
- n. A hard structure on the head of some birds, such as the hornbill or cassowary.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A piece of defensive or ornamental armor (with or without a vizor) for the head and neck; a helmet.
WordNet 3.0
- n. (15-16th century) any armor for the head; usually ornate without a visor
Etymologies
- French, from Spanish casco; see cask.
Examples
“Rocks that are cruel and relentless as the surges that sweep over them in stormy weather, and which are so quaintly named from their helmet, or "casque" - like resemblance -- rocks, concerning which the poet Swinburne has sung in his eloquent verse, that breathes the very spirit of the sea in depicting the strife of the elements:”
“On top of the head is a "casque" - a helmet-like growth of tough skin.”
“The bony helmet on his head, called a casque, is distinctively bent and on one side appears rectangular.”
“It is an elegant example of what the French call a casque bourgignon, a Burgundian helmet of distinctive design that was the choice of kings and noblemen—a handsome, high-crowned helmet with a comb and helm forged from a single piece of metal.5 Above the helmet is a large plume of white feathers called a panache—the origin of our modern word.”
“It is an elegant example of what the French call a casque bourgignon, a Burgundian helmet of distinctive design that was the choice of kings and noblemen -- a handsome, high-crowned helmet with a comb and helm forged from a single piece of metal.”
The Wall Street Journal: 'Champlain's Dream: The European Founding of North America'
“He is equipped with huge spear and broad brass-bound leather shield; his casque is a tiger's head with bull's horns; he wears a scarlet cloak with gold brooch over a lion's skin with the claws dangling; his feet are in sandals with brass ornaments; his shins are in brass greaves; and his bristling military moustache glistens with oil.”
“Some wore a corselet of pieces of hard wood laced together with bear grass, so as to form a light coat of mail, pliant to the body; and a kind of casque of cedar bark, leather, and bear grass, sufficient to protect the head from an arrow or war club.”
Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains
“a kind of casque of cedar bark, leather, and bear grass, sufficient to protect the head from an arrow or war club.”
Astoria, or, anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains
“Jackie Nickerson Vivion Afifi holds up his casque colonial.”
“Father Daniel defines a Salet to be a sort of light casque, without a crest, sometimes having a visor, and being sometimes without one.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘casque’.
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[Open] “What’s that on your head?”
Headgear: “anything worn on the head” (that isn’t part of the head). Hats are fine, but for a more detailed, wider selection of fashionable hats in all colors and sizes, please see Reese Tee’s li...
goggles, wig, headdress, cap, hackamore, halter, bridle, beanie, turban, hat, crown, chapeau and 122 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 1073 more...
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names of hats
liripipe, cowl, capuchon, liripipium, snood, bonnet, toque, turban, poke, toboggan-cap, crown, fedora and 72 more...
utarcher Whether from love of form, or from curiosity, the marshals paid no attention to his expressions of reluctance, but unhelmed him by cutting the laces of his casque, and undoing the fastening of his gorget. When the helmet was removed, the well-formed, yet sun-burnt features of a young man of twenty-five were seen, amidst a profusion of short fair hair.
--Ivanhoe, Chapter XII, by Sir Walter Scott Jan 10, 2011