Definition

Noun: 1. A person who makes and sells hats: A hatter is someone whose occupation is the manufacturing and/or retailing of headwear.

Usage

• The word "hatter" is a specific occupational noun. It is used to identify a person engaged in the trade of hat-making and selling. While historically common, the term is less frequently used for modern professions, often replaced by more general terms like "milliner" (though milliner typically implies a maker of women's hats) or "hat maker."

Examples

Advanced Usage / Idioms

• "(as) mad as a hatter": This is a fixed idiom meaning completely insane or irrational. Its origin is often linked to the historical use of mercury in the hat-making process, which could cause neurological damage and erratic behavior in hatters.
  • The villain in the story was as mad as a hatter.
  • His plan was so chaotic it seemed mad as a hatter.

Variants and Related Words

• Milliner (noun): A person who makes, designs, or sells women's hats. While related, "milliner" is not a direct synonym for "hatter," which is a more general term.
• Hat-making (noun): The craft or business of making hats.

Synonyms

• Hat maker: A more modern and direct synonym.
• Milliner (specifically for women's hats).

Notes

• The primary contemporary use of "hatter" is often within the historical context or in the famous idiom "mad as a hatter." The standalone occupational use is now somewhat archaic.

Noun

1. someone who makes and sells hats