liberty cap


noun

a soft, conical cap given to a freed slave in ancient Rome at manumission of his servitude, used as a symbol of liberty, especially since the 18th century.
Compare Phrygian cap.

Origin of liberty cap

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example sentences from the Web for liberty cap

British Dictionary definitions for liberty cap

liberty cap

noun

a cap of soft felt worn as a symbol of liberty, esp during the French Revolution, from the practice in ancient Rome of giving a freed slave such a cap
a poisonous hallucinogenic basidiomycetous fungus, Psilocybe semilanceata, yellowish-brown with a distinctive pointed cap, found in groups in grassland