A tall, cylindrical cap or hat traditionally worn by men in Turkey and other parts of the Ottoman Empire.
From Turkish 'kalpak' or Russian 'kolpak'. The term entered European languages through trade and diplomatic contact with the Ottoman Empire, particularly in the 16th-18th centuries.
Calpacs became so associated with Ottoman military and official dress that European artists used them as instant visual symbols of 'Eastern exoticism'—if a painted figure wore a calpac, viewers immediately knew they were supposed to seem foreign and mysterious.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.