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n. A soft felt hat with a fairly low crown creased lengthwise and a brim that can be turned up or down. [Originally an American commercial designation from 1883, after Fédora (1882), a play by French dramatist Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) in which Sarah Bernhardt returned to the stage of the Comédie Française to great acclaim in the role of a fictional Russian princess named Fédora Romanoff (several styles of women's clothing from 1883 were also named after the popular play, although no contemporary evidence indicates that a hat like a fedora was worn by any of the cast of the original production), from Fédora, the French form of Fedora, Russian form of the Greek name Theodōra : theos, god; see THEO- + dōron, gift; see THERMIDOR.]  (click for a larger image) fedora |
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