Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A French military cap with a flat circular top and a visor.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of cap first worn by French troops in Algeria, and since much worn by other French troops and in other countries, as well as in public schools and institutions, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A military cap having a close-fitting band, a round flat top sloping toward the front, and a visor. As originally worn by the French in Algeria about 1830 it was tall and stiff with a straight visor. It is now lower, has a curved visor, and is frequently soft.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A cap with a flat circular top and a visor, particularly associated with French uniforms.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a cap with a flat circular top and a visor

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French képi, from German dialectal Käppi, diminutive of German Kappe, cap, from Middle High German kappe, cloak, cap, from Old High German kappa, cloak, probably from Late Latin cappa, head covering.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French képi, from Swiss German Käppi, diminutive of Kappe, from Middle High German kappe, from Old High German kappa, from Latin cappa. Akin to English cap.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word kepi.

Examples

  • N American Civil War Inf. w/kepi and blanket MM 001 +

    Mm Wars | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • His kepi is on his head, and against his uniform jacket with its long row of brass buttons he holds his right hand: Only his thumb and forefinger are left.

    Shadows and Light Somewhere in Time William Meyers 2011

  • Also, he looked great in uniform, whether with helmet in this late photo or kepi in this earlier one.

    Picspam: Albert I, King of the Belgians Victoria Janssen 2010

  • This thought comes to me the way a boogie board tied to your wrist does in the wake of a showy speedboat: with a smash to the kepi.

    Vivian Rising Daniella Brodsky 2010

  • There were a couple of chaps with muskets looking on, and Ilderim was having his arm bandaged by a fellow in a kepi and spectacles.

    Fiancée 2010

  • I came home wearing a blue kepi and a carrying a toy musket.

    Robert Mackey: Misremembering: The Failure to Teach History in America Robert Mackey 2010

  • The insignia on his kepi, the hat unique to the French military, is torn away and thrown into the dirt.

    Emancipation Michael Goldfarb 2009

  • I read somewhere that the kepi was looked down upon, but was nonetheless popular.

    Archive 2008-03-09 papabear 2008

  • See the wiki entry for kepi on why it may have been looked down upon.

    Archive 2008-03-09 papabear 2008

  • Through the large glass doors Bond saw a black Mercedes 300D, driven by a man in a kepi.

    Advantage Mr. Bond Faulks, Sebastian 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Wearing a kepi makes me heppy.

    May 23, 2016

  • The old organ-grinder, Giuseppe,

    Employed a deft monkey called Pepi.

    He gracefully bowed

    At coins from the crowd

    And scooped them all up in his kepi.

    February 28, 2019

  • Yeah, well, me and Pharoah Apepi

    Were hoping for rhymes much less preppy

    But so help us, lord,

    QMS has runs on the board

    So we'll forgive this little misstep, eh

    March 1, 2019

  • “Preppy?” The gibe is moronic.

    A rhyme need be only euphonic.

    Such nattering will be

    Expected of bilby

    And mummified buddies pharaonic.

    March 1, 2019