chapeau

English

A heraldic chapeau.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French chappeau. The interjection is after Modern French chapeau in similar use, originally short for chapeau bas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃæˈpoʊ/
• Rhymes: -oʊ

Noun

chapeau (plural chapeaus or chapeaux)

1. A hat.
2. (heraldry) A cap of maintenance.
3. (oenology) The mass of grape solids that floats on the surface during the fermentation of wine.
4. (law) The text at the start of a numbered section of a legal document that appears directly beside the section number, ahead of any numbered subsections.
5. (international law) A passage of introductory text appearing in a treaty that broadly defines its principles, objectives, and background.

Derived terms

• chapeaued

Related terms

• chapeau-bras
• chapeaugraphy

Interjection

chapeau

1. well done, a verbal representation of a hat tip
   • 2012, Kfir Luzzatto, The Evelyn Project, PINE TEN, LLC, →ISBN:

     Chapeau to you for the presence of mind.

   • 2017, Jamal AlShehhi, Uncle Sam & Myself: Living in the land of Uncle Sam, Kuttab Publishing, →ISBN, page 38:

     I fully understand the mother's concerns; and I say chapeau to her twice. The first for allowing her daughter the opportunity to study abroad, and secondly for accompanying her during the first months of study to ease her homelessness.

   • 2019, Carly Findlay, Say Hello, HarperCollins Australia, →ISBN:

     Hopefully you see it as a good promotion for your blog and chapeau to you for being awesome!

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French chapeau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃaːˈpoː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cha‧peau
• Rhymes: -oː

Interjection

chapeau

1. Used to express appreciation

   Synonym: petje af

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French chappeau m, from Old French chapel m, from Early Medieval Latin cappellus m, diminutive from Late Latin cappa f. The interjection was originally short for chapeau bas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.po/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o

Noun

chapeau m (plural chapeaux)

1. hat
2. (law) introductory text
3. (printing) lead of an article
4. cap (of a mushroom)

Derived terms

• chapeau bas
• chapeau melon m
• coup du chapeau m
• en baver des ronds de chapeau
• manger son chapeau
• parler à travers son chapeau
• porter le chapeau
• sur les chapeaux de roue
• tirer son chapeau
• tour du chapeau m

Related terms

• chape f

Descendants

• Antillean Creole: chapo
• → Chinook Jargon: siyáputl, siyápo
  • → Quileute: tsiyá·pos
• → Choctaw: shʋpo, shapo
• → Galician: chapeu
• → German: Chapeau
• → Hausa: shàpô
• → Hebrew: שָׁאפּוֹ
• → Iberian:
  • Catalan: xapó
  • Galician: chapeu
  • Portuguese: chapéu; (obsolete) chapeo
    • → Ambonese Malay: capeu
    • → Guajajára: zapew
    • → Konkani: चेपें (cepẽ)
    • → Ladino: chapeo
    • → Manado Malay: capeo (“hat”)
    • → Swahili: chepeo
  • Spanish: chapeo
• → Jeju: 사포 (sapo)
• → Narragansett: shapú

Interjection

chapeau

1. Used to express appreciation: hats off

   Synonym: chapeau bas

   Chapeau, monsieur.

   Well done, sir.

Derived terms

• chapelier m

Descendants

• → Dutch: chapeau
• → English: chapeau
• → German: Chapeau
• → Spanish: chapó, chapeau
• → Portuguese: chapéu

Further reading

• “chapeau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chapeau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃaˈpo/ [t͡ʃaˈpo]
• Rhymes: -o

Interjection

chapeau

1. Alternative form of chapó

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “chapeau”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10