Now where is that Witch-English dictionary? I know I left it here somewhere.
Copintank, n. A sugar-loaf hat.
On the off chance that you've ever wondered what the technical name for a witch's hat is, well: now you know.
I'll take Witch Words for a thousand, Alex.
Also known (mostly by cowans) as a “steeple hat” (!), the copintank has been associated with English witches since some of the earliest woodcuts of them were made during the 16th and 17th centuries. Not surprisingly, this was also the period during which the copintank was considered fashionable. We witches have always been dressers.
Don't ask etymology; even the experts don't agree. It seems likely that the first syllable reflects the archaic word cop, “head” (= German kopf), but the rest is a mystery. One thing we can be sure of: it has nothing to do with either vats or vehicles. That word comes from the Subcontinent, and didn't enter English until centuries after witches were already sporting our signature headgear with its distinctive name.
If ever you've wondered why we wear them (no, Virginia, it doesn't have anything to do with the cone of power), well: let me tell you a story.
For years the local festival was held a little south of here in a beautiful grove of mature white oaks. Unfortunately, this was during mid-August, just at the time when the oaks are dropping their acorns.
If ever you've been beaned by an acorn falling from 50 feet, you'll know why you mustn't forget your copintank.
Here in the Midwest, of course, no self-respecting witch would dream of leaving the covenstead without her steel-reinforced copintank, especially during tornado season.
Why not? you ask. Not hard, my little pretty.
Black Mountain Brand Steel-Reinforced Copintanks
Guaranteed to Repel 98% of Falling Farmhouses
And always remember that old saying of the Sisterhood:
You have to wear the hat. You can't let the hat wear you.