Meanings
stetson1
Stetson2
plural Stetsons · alternative stetson
- A type of felt hat with a wide brim, typically worn by cowboys.
He thought his Stetson made him look like a cowboy. At least it covered his bald spot.
3 more examples
There is probably not a citizen in the United States who wears a hat that has not heard of John Stetson, and does not know that the Stetson hat is one of if not the best made. For some cause the Knights [of Labor] have boycotted the Stetson hats, and have notified all dealers that if they sell them they also will be boycotted.
1886 April 1, “Knights of Labor”, in Railway Conductors' Monthly, volume 3, number 4, Chicago, page 214Witness next saw him running down the railroad on his horse as fast as the animal could carry him. Mr. Coggin and Mr. Vicker pursued and brought him back. Deceased, as he came through the saloon, had on his white Stetson hat; and here the witness identified the hat and also the knife. On the left side of the hat, just behind where it covered the left ear, and close to the hat band, there is a cut, apparently made with a sharp instrument.
1887, “Galveston Term, 1887. Powers v The State. Statement of the case.”, in Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of Texas, volume 23, Court of Appeals of Texas, pages 50-51ALAN: Cowboys are watching! Take off their stetsons.
1973, Peter Shaffer, “Act I, Scene 21”, in Equus, page 71
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old English*Stīthweardes
- Middle EnglishStidewardesdoune
- EnglishStetson
A variant of Stitson, a habitational name from Stidston (“site in the Parish of South Brent”), from Middle English Stidewardesdoune, Stidewardeston, Stitewardeston, Styddeston, from Old English *Stīthweardes (genitive of *Stīthweard (personal name)) + tūn (“farmstead estate”). * (hat): From Stetson, an American brand of hat named after its manufacturer, John B. Stetson Company, itself named after John B. Stetson, who founded it in 1865. The hats were widely known in the 1870s and 1880s. Sol Steinmetz stated in 2010 that Stetson hat was first attested in 1900, but this is clearly mistaken, being several decades too late; it may be that what Steinmetz had meant to write is that Stetson alone as a common noun meaning a Stetson hat was first attested in 1900.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
stetson. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stetson
“stetson.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stetson. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stetson,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stetson.
Source: stetson on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.