red hat

noun

the broad-brimmed official hat of a Roman Catholic cardinal, symbolic of the office or rank of a cardinal.
a cardinal.

red hat

the broad-brimmed crimson hat given to cardinals as the symbol of their rank and office
the rank and office of a cardinal

Origin of red hat¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

The Countess bowed stiffly to the red hat, and the red hat responded with eager fulsomeness.

She eloped in a hat, a big red hat, three white feathers—one hundred and seventy-five dollars.

He was dressed in yellow, sulphur-coloured robes, with a high-peaked conical red hat on his head, which was shaven.

But the conferring of the red hat always takes place at the hands of the pope in a public consistory.

“I for my part, to tell the truth, do not think that the Red Hat is my highest honour,” he was accustomed to say.

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