šajkača

Serbo-Croatian

A man wearing a šajkača

Etymology

šajka (“type of woolen fabric”) +‎ -ača.

A popular etymology relates it to šajkaši, Serbian river troops in the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Noun

šajkača f (Cyrillic spelling шајкача)

1. a type of cap worn traditionally worn in Serbia by peasants and soldiers, today used as a national symbol