What is "bonnet"

Bonnet \Bon"net\, v. i. To take off the bonnet or cap as a mark of respect; to uncover. [Obs.]
--Shak.

Bonnet \Bon"net\ (b[o^]n"n[e^]t), n. [OE. bonet, OF. bonet, bonete. F. bonnet fr. LL. bonneta, bonetum; orig. the name of a stuff, and of unknown origin.]

1. A headdress for men and boys; a cap. [Obs.]
   --Milton.
   --Shak.

2. A soft, elastic, very durable cap, made of thick, seamless woolen stuff, and worn by men in Scotland.

   And p?i?s and bonnets waving high.
   --Sir W. Scott.

3. A covering for the head, worn by women, usually protecting more or less the back and sides of the head, but no part of the forehead. The shape of the bonnet varies greatly at different times; formerly the front part projected, and spread outward, like the mouth of a funnel.

4. Anything resembling a bonnet in shape or use; as,

   1. (Fort.) A small defense work at a salient angle; or a part of a parapet elevated to screen the other part from enfilade fire.

   2. A metallic canopy, or projection, over an opening, as a fireplace, or a cowl or hood to increase the draught of a chimney, etc.

   3. A frame of wire netting over a locomotive chimney, to prevent escape of sparks.

   4. A roofing over the cage of a mine, to protect its occupants from objects falling down the shaft.

   5. In pumps, a metal covering for the openings in the valve chambers.

5. (Naut.) An additional piece of canvas laced to the foot of a jib or foresail in moderate winds.
   --Hakluyt.

6. The second stomach of a ruminating animal.

7. An accomplice of a gambler, auctioneer, etc., who entices others to bet or to bid; a decoy. [Cant]

8. (Automobiles) The metal cover or shield over the motor; predominantly British usage. In the U.S. it is called the hood. [Brit.]

   Bonnet limpet (Zo["o]l.), a name given, from their shape, to various species of shells (family Calyptr[ae]id[ae]).

   Bonnet monkey (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian monkey ( Macacus sinicus), with a tuft of hair on its head; the munga.

   Bonnet piece, a gold coin of the time of James V. of Scotland, the king's head on which wears a bonnet.
   --Sir W. Scott.

   To have a bee in the bonnet. See under Bee.

   Black bonnet. See under Black.

   Blue bonnet. See in the Vocabulary.

late 14c., Scottish bonat "brimless hat for men," from Old French bonet, short for chapel de bonet, from bonet (12c., Modern French bonnet) "kind of cloth used as a headdress," from Medieval Latin bonitum "material for hats," perhaps a shortening of Late Latin abonnis "a kind of cap" (7c.), which is perhaps from a Germanic source.\n

n. 1 A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin. 2 A traditional Scottish woollen brimless cap; a bunnet. 3 (context by extension English) The polishing head of a power buffer, often made of wool. 4 (context Australia British NZ South Africa automotive English) The hinged cover over the engine of a motor car; a hood. 5 (context nautical English) A length of canvas attached to a fore-and-aft sail to increase the pulling power. 6 (context obsolete slang English) An accomplice of a gambler, auctioneer, etc., who entices others to bet or to bid. 7 The second stomach of a ruminant. 8 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use. 9 # A small defence work at a salient angle; or a part of a parapet elevated to screen the other part from enfilade fire. 10 # A metallic canopy, or projection, over an opening, as a fireplace, or a cowl or hood to increase the draught of a chimney, etc. 11 # A frame of wire netting over a locomotive chimney, to prevent escape of sparks. 12 # A roofing over the cage of a mine, to protect its occupants from objects falling down the shaft. 13 # In pumps, a metal covering for the openings in the valve chambers. vb. 1 (context obsolete English) To take off the bonnet or cap as a mark of respect; to uncover. 2 (context dated transitive English) To pull the bonnet or cap down over the head of.

v. dress in a bonnet

1. n. a hat tied under the chin [syn: poke bonnet]

2. protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine; "there are powerful engines under the hoods of new cars"; "the mechanic removed the cowling in order to repair the plane's engine" [syn: hood, cowl, cowling]

Bonnet may refer to:

Bonnet is a term for a wide variety of styles of headgear for both sexes, but most often female, which has been in use from the Middle Ages to the present. It is impossible to generalize as to the styles for which the word has been used, any more than for the alternatives of hat or cap, but there is for both sexes a tendency to use the word for styles in soft material and lacking a brim. However the term has also been used, for example, for steel helmets. This was from Scotland (in 1505), where the term has long been especially popular. Bonnet derives from the same word in French, where it originally indicated a type of material. In the 21st century, only a few kinds of headgear are still referred to as bonnets, most commonly those worn by babies and Scottish soldiers.

Bonnet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Charles Bonnet (1720–1793), Swiss naturalist
• Françoise Bonnet (born 1957), French long-distance runner
• Georges Bonnet (1889–1973), French politician
• Graham Bonnet (born 1947), British singer
• Joseph Bonnet (1884–1944), French organist and composer
• Leslie Bonnet (1902–1985), British RAF officer, duck breeder and writer
• Pierre Ossian Bonnet (1819–1892), French mathematician
• René Bonnet (1904–1983), French driver and automobile constructor
• Rob Bonnet (born 1952), British journalist
• Stede Bonnet (c. 1680–1718), pirate
• William Bonnet (born 1982), French professional road bicycle racer