Explanation

A fez is a little round hat with a tassel on top. Fez is a French word that comes from the city of Fez in Morocco, where most of the hats were once made. A fez is always cylindrical and often red. Years ago, the fez was the official national hat of Turkey, and before that the Ottoman Empire. Turkey banned fezzes in the 1920s in an effort to become more modern. Today fezzes are typically worn by certain groups of Muslims and members of fraternal organizations such as the Shriners and the Elks.

Vocabulary lists containing fez

Put a Lid On It: Hats, Hoods, and Other Headgear

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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 4

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"When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," Vocabulary from the short story

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See Examples For:

Showtown puts a spotlight on the town's rich history as the seaside home of showbiz, with other exhibits including George Formby's ukulele, Tommy Cooper's fez and Peter Kay's purple suit.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2024

We have photos of my male ancestors wearing the fez and the Ottoman military uniform, but women were rarely photographed.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024

He’s the one wearing the Ottoman-style fez, recounting a tale from his recent trip to Constantinople with Rorbye.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2023

That history helps explain why Sabbatai’s successor, Jacob Frank, dressed in Turkish fashion throughout his life, wearing curved shoes and a tall fez.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2022

Crescents, stars, moons and suns were in goldthread embroidery on the small fez that Elijah Muhammad wore.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Jews had lived in Aleppo and Fez for over a thousand years; in Iraq and Egypt for more than two and a half thousand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Earlier this year, he and his wife Sylvia travelled to Morocco for the first time, stopping through cities like Marrakech, Fez and Essaouira.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

"I pray to God for his safe return," she said, having travelled all the way from Fez, some 200 kilometres away.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

The finale also included a tribute to Cloud and his character, whose absence in the beginning of the season was attributed to Fez serving time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

A group of Jews who tried to sail south from the port of Cádiz to the kingdom of Fez died in a terrible fire.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

During the American Civil War, swashbuckling soldiers known as “Zouaves” wore Turkish-style fezes with flowing tassels.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2012

A few of the better-paid older men wore turbans of cheap white muslin, wrapped round brown felt skull-caps, or fezes.

From There was a King in Egypt by Norma Lorimer

All four were dressed in stiff Hungarian dolmans, long black pantaloons, and red fezes.

From The Lion of Janina The Last Days of the Janissaries by Mór Jókai

According to a report which reaches us the crews of the Goeben and Breslau are wearing a most curious garb, being clothed in Turkish fezes and breaches of neutrality.

From Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 11, 1914 by Various

A couple of Egyptian native police in khaki drill, brown belts, side-arms, red fezes, and carrying canes, both smoking cigarettes, swaggered up and down in front of an arc-light.

From At Suvla Bay Being the notes and sketches of scenes, characters and adventures of the Dardanelles campaign, made by John Hargrave ("White Fox") while serving with the 32nd field ambulance, X division, Mediterranean expeditionary force, during the great war. by John Hargrave

The Shriners would become known for their philanthropy — funding children’s hospitals — but they would also be known for their zanier side: donning fezzes and zipping around in tiny cars.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2023

He’s saved a few fancy outfits and fezzes that Guy used to wear during solo and band jobs at restaurants such as Haji Baba’s in Inglewood and Arabian Nights in Fresno.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2021

Millions of rubber trees stood in martial rows, their catchment buckets resembling red fezzes.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 14, 2016

There are Matt Smith-style dicky bows aplenty, along with tweed jackets, fezzes, sonic screwdrivers, Cyberman masks, Tom Baker scarves, even Tardis dresses.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2013

A little later, the hearse and limousines encountered a line of motorcycles and my mother noticed that the drivers were all wearing fezzes.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides