yarmulke

noun

yar·​mul·​ke ˈyä-mə-kə  ˈyär-mə(l)-kə 

: a skullcap worn especially by Orthodox and Conservative Jewish males in the synagogue and the home

Examples of yarmulke in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

About five minutes later, the investigator says a man wearing a yarmulke, the skullcap traditionally worn by many Jewish men, was waiting to cross the street at West 45th Street and Sixth Avenue, court records show. — Mark Morales, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026

Pinky, a child’s pink toy horse, and a yarmulke belonging to his eldest son. — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 12 May 2026

Early one morning last fall, Nathaniel Felder left his home, in Maplewood, New Jersey, dressed in a navy sweatshirt and a gray yarmulke. — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026

The stands were packed with observant Jews wearing yarmulkes and tzitzit, children playing hooky from Hebrew school and New Yorkers who flew south for one of the biggest basketball games in Yeshiva University history. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 14 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish yarmlke, from Polish jarmułka & Ukrainian yarmulka skullcap, of Turkic origin; akin to Turkish yağmurluk rainwear

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

yarmulke

noun

yar·​mul·​ke ˈyäm-ə-kə  ˈyär-məl- 

: a skullcap worn especially by Jewish males

Etymology

Yiddish yarmlke "yarmulke"