tam
abbreviation of tam-o'-shanter.
| 1895 Daily News 8 Apr. 6/7 The ‘Tams’ as the Tam O'Shanters are now universally called by shopkeepers, are favourites for windy weather. 1896 Godey's Mag. Feb. 224/2 The headgear is a coquettish white Tam with a white quill. 1899 A. E. Holdsworth Valley Gt. Shadow x, I'll put on your tam—there! |
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▸ A tall woollen cap intended to be worn over dreadlocks, and associated esp. with Rastafarians.
Rastafarian tams frequently feature coloured rings of red, yellow, and green, in reference to the colours of the Ethiopian flag.
| 1972 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 4 May 4/4 Witness said the man who robbed him was wearing a tam. 1978 New Musical Express 27 May 36/5 Every other Youth you see in the streets seems to be sporting a red, green and gold tam into which his locks have been tucked. 1990 P. Melville Shape-shifter (1991) 45 He piled his locks back into the tam and made for the front door. 1999 D. Century Street Kingdom vi. 203 On his head he wore a knitted Rastafarian tam packed tight with the compressed mass of his dreadlocks. |