Meanings
plural ten-gallon hats · alternative 10-gallon hat
- A large cowboy hat, not holding ten gallons like the name would suggest but usually around three quarts.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna hat with a wide brim and a soft crown; worn by American ranch hands
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Spanishgalón“braid”
- Englishten-gallon hat
Not certain. An earlier form without the number, gallon hat, comes by folk etymology from the Spanish galón (“braid”). It may also be a hyperbolic reference to the size of the hat, or a combination of the two.
More words from Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ten-gallon hat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ten-gallon%20hat
“ten-gallon hat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ten-gallon%20hat. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ten-gallon hat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ten-gallon%20hat.
Source: ten-gallon hat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.