Kalpak
Calpack, kalpak, or qalpaq (from Turkish: kalpak [kaɫˈpak];[1] Kazakh: қалпақ, Kyrgyz: калпак, both [qɑlˈpɑq]; Bulgarian: калпак; Greek: καλπάκι (kalpaki);[2] Polish: kołpak; Ukrainian: ковпак, kovpak) is a high-crowned cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Ukraine, the Balkans (Slavic Cossack) and throughout Central Asia (by Kipchak peoples) and the Caucasus (by nomadic tribes).
The kalpak is used to keep the head warm in winter and shade out the sun during summer. There are different kalpaks for different seasons, with kalpaks used in winter being thicker and the ones used in summer being thinner but broader for shading purposes.
There are many styles of kalpak. They usually can be folded flat for keeping or carrying when not being worn. The brim can be turned up all the way around. Sometimes there is a cut in the brim so that a two-pointed peak can be formed. Plain white ones are often reserved for festivals and special occasions. Those intended for everyday use may have a black velvet lining. In the Turkic cultures of central Asia, they have a sharp tapering to resemble a mountain, rather than the cyndrical kalpaks of Turkey.
The word kalpak is also a component of the ethnonym of a Turkic group of uncertain relatedness: the "Karakalpak" (literally "black kalpak" in Karakalpak).
In Russian, Persian and Polish, the word is also used for hubcap (for a car wheel's hub; see also the Wiktionary entry hubcap).
Etymology
The "Kalpak" originated with nomadic tribes living in Eurasia. Having Russian and Kipchak versions.
History
The Kalpak was a historically symbolized the Golden Horde in Central Asia it is prized in Kipchak cultures among the Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tatar peoples.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ "Merriam-Webster Online - Calpack entry". M-w.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
- ^ Dehèque, Félix Désiré (1825). Dictionnaire grec–moderne français (in French). J. Duplessis et Cie. p. 271.
καλπάκι, το, bonnet fourré [fur-lined cap]
External links
The dictionary definition of calpack at Wiktionary
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