sola topi en · NOUN
Etymology
From the shola or sola plant (Aeschynomene aspera)—whose pith is used—and topi or tope, Hindi for "hat", popularised by the British colonials who wore them while inspecting farms or travelling.
Meanings
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A pith helmet
In some Charles appeared, in shorts and sola topi, flanked by robed, shock-headed men of intense blackness.
1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 96: