Tam o’Shanter

Origin of: Tam o’Shanter

Tam o’Shanter

A soft woollen beret or cap, with a central bobble on top, with a circumference about twice that of the head, as formerly worn by Scottish ploughmen and is named after Tam o’Shanter the hero of Robert Burns’ poem of the same name written in 1790. The Burns poem came first and the 19th century name for the bonnet came afterwards, c. 1840.