ADS-L Digest - 18 Oct 2008 to 19 Oct 2008 (#2008-294)

[Your Name]

Does anyone have any info about the origin of "mobcap"?  I'd always  assumed
it was an ellision (is that the word I want?) of "mopcap," which is  harder to
say.  It would make sense - you need to get long hair out of your  face and
off your neck while mopping, which is hot, sweaty work; and with wet,  dirty
hands, you can't brush your hair out of your face.  (Thank God I'm  too lazy to
do much mopping now; but as a kid I had to do a fair  amount.)   In my day we
held it back and up with a farmer's  handkerchief (on which no farmer had ever
laid a finger; that's just what they  called that style).  But bundling it up
under a full cloth cap would also  make sense.

However, I heard someone refer to "mobcap" as being a derivative of "maid's
cap."  And dictionary.com, which draws from multiple sources, says it may
come from "Mabel's cap."

It's a moot question, as my hair is quite short now and I have no need for
any hair restraint on the rare occasions I do bring myself to wield a mop.
But I'm just curious as to where it came from.

Rosemarie

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