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I thought tricorn (aka cocked) hats were popular in the 18th century
across military and civilian European men's dress.
Formal uniforms in the RN were only introduced in the mid 1700s I
thought. I wonder if at the time the terminology was introduced the
default cocked hat was tricorn. I wonder when it was first used in
navigation? The OED doesn't even seem to recognise the navigational
usage.

Bill

On Wed, 31 Jul 2019 at 00:34, Robin Stuart  wrote:
>
> I visited the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Portsmouth, England recently. 
In their collection they have a Frock Coat and Cocked hat that were owned by 
Admiral Sir Martin Nasmith. This cocked hat however was a bicorne rather than 
a tricorne that we usually, quite reasonably, associate with the term in 
navigation. While a cocked hat is any hat with a permanently turned up brim, 
it begs the question as to when and where the use of term first originated in 
a navigational context. Although the bicorne hat is only roughly triangular 
when seen side on if the term arose in the Royal Navy then it might be a 
reference the officers’ uniforms. Any insight to offer?
>
> Robin Stuart
>
> 

   

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