A soft brush designed to clean and smooth the felt or fabric surface of hats without damaging them.
From hat + brush, combining Old English hæt with brush (from Middle English brusche, possibly from Old French brosse). This specialized tool emerged in the 1800s as hat care became a distinct craft.
Hat makers developed special brushes because regular brushes would destroy the delicate felt—it's similar to how we now use special microfiber cloths for electronics, showing that proper tool specialization goes back centuries!
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