subs. (obsolete university).—1. A hat: specifically, the turban-shaped hat fashionable among ladies 1858–9. [From the Scripture phrase, ‘MOAB is my washpot’ (Ps. lx. 8).]
1864. Reader, 22 Oct. MOAB, a … hat…. University it is all over. We feel sure we know the undergraduate who coined the expression; he is now a solemn don delivering lectures in Cambridge.
1884. Graphic, 20 Sept., p. 307/2. The third, with his varnished boots, his stiff brown MOAB of the newest fashion, his well-displayed shirt-cuffs.
2. (Winchester College).—See quot.
1866. MANSFIELD, School-Life at Winchester College, 190. On the west side of School court, a spacious room, nicknamed MOAB, has been erected, with numerous marble basins, and an unlimited supply of fresh water.
