כִּפָּה (Kippah) — skullcap

Etymology

The kippah, perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Jewish identity today, is a relatively recent addition to the Hebrew lexicon in its specific meaning as a skullcap. While headcoverings are now standard in religious practice, they were not mandated in Biblical or Mishnaic times. The term kippah originally referred to a dome or vaulted structure in Rabbinic Hebrew, such as the "Dome of the Rock" (Kippat HaSela). Its application to the small, round headcovering began in the late 19th century, following a search for a Hebrew alternative to the Yiddish/Polish term yarmulke.

The selection of kippah was likely driven by two factors: the physical resemblance of the headcovering to a dome and a textual corruption in the Babylonian Talmud. In the Mishnah (Ketubot 5:8), a woman's headgear is referred to as a kappach (כַּפָּח). However, in later versions of the Talmud, this was often miscopied as kippah, providing a linguistic "justification" for using the word to describe headwear.

Before kippah became the dominant term in the 1920s, other candidates were in competition, including mitznefet (the biblical term for the High Priest's turban) and kufiya (borrowed from the Arabic headcovering). In 1933, the Hebrew Language Committee (Va'ad HaLashon) officially attempted to promote the Aramaic-derived word kumta as the standard term, but by then, kippah was already too well-established in popular speech to be replaced.

Key Quotes

"גנבו האיכרים האלה את כפותיהם (יארמולקי) אשר הסירו האורחים מעל ראשיהם אחר התפלה" — זאב הילדסהיים, המליץ, 1883

"יש אומרים שיש למחות שלא ליכנס בבית הכנסת בגלוי הראש" — שולחן ערוך, אורח חיים צ״א, ג׳, המאה ה-16

"מצנפת: היא כמין כובע... ובלשון משנה קרוי כִּפָּה" — רמב"ם, פירוש המשניות (בתרגום), המאה ה-12

Timeline

• 14th Century: Rabbeinu Yerucham of Provence is the first to mandate headcoverings in the synagogue.
• 16th Century: The Shulchan Aruch mentions that some authorities object to entering a synagogue bareheaded.
• 1868: Alexander Zederbaum uses the generic terms kissui rosh and michse rosh in the newspaper Ha-Melitz.
• 1883: Zeev Hildesheim publishes an article in Ha-Melitz using the word kippah to explicitly refer to yarmulkes.
• 1887: Poet Y.L. Gordon uses the term kofiya as a Hebrew synonym.
• 1933: The Hebrew Language Committee designates kumta as the official word for the skullcap, but the decision is largely ignored.

Related Words

• יאַרמולקע (Yarmulke) — The Yiddish/Polish term, likely from Turkish yağmurluk (raincoat) or Latin almuccia.
• מִצְנֶפֶת (Mitznefet) — Biblical turban; used briefly in the 19th century as a synonym for kippah.
• כֻּמְתָּה (Kumta) — Aramaic for "cap" or "beret"; the official but unsuccessful alternative for kippah.
• כַּפָּח (Kappach) — The original Mishnaic term for female headgear that was likely corrupted into kippah.