That is, how do you spell the Canadian name of a knit cap that is pronounced “tuke” (or “tooke”)?
Am Heritage Dictionary defines and spells it:
But how is the Canadian word that is pronounced “tuke” spelled?
Shouldn’t the question be …
“That is, how do you spell the Canadian name of a knit cap that is pronounced “tuke” (or “tooke”), eh?”
Up here, we spell it tuque
I always thought it was toque, actually, but it’s always been a word I’ve spoken, not written.
And I always thought it was ‘touque’. 
How do I spell it? I don’t, as a rule, substituting “hat” in written communications. None of the spellings look right to me.
Yeah, sorry. I can write it “tuque” or “toque” depending on which version I saw last, but as 2trew says, it’s a word I’ll use often, but almost never write. From a quick Google search, it appears tuque is more popular with the Canadian Press and CBC, and it’s the one I kinda like more.
Toque.
And I’d like to clarify, I’m not a pothead.
So interesting that this topic has come up because when I was in Montreal last weekend there was a restaurant that I really wanted to try called “Toque!”
Then this week on the cover of New York magazine the issue is about top chefs and there’s the word “Toque” right there on the cover!
I wonder if it means chef’s hat or something…
Yes, in French, both tuque and toque are words. The first one refers to the knit winter cap and the second to a chef’s hat.
Incidently, the most excellent restaurant you alluded to is called Toqué!. It’s a pun. It might be taken to mean “who wears a toque”, but it also means “slightly crazy”, “excentrically bizarre”.
When I type tuque into babelfish, it translates as tuque.
When I type tuque into babelfish, it translates as tuque.
Since tuque is also a perfectly fine English word, meaning the same thing as it does in French, why would it translate as anything else?
Well, M-W has an entry for tuque, so that’s not surprising.
Tuque is a Canadian regionalism, though. In France, the same hat would be called a bonnet de laine, or just simply a bonnet.
Ah, damn you Tengu. Damn your long nose and typing skills!
Likewise in English. In most parts of the US, you may refer to a wool hat, winter hat, ski hat/cap, etc. but not generally “tuque.” In the south, certain hats (haven’t figured out exactly which ones yet) are referred to as “toboggans.” This from people who usually have no idea what a toboggan(sled) is.
Native Southern Californian here. Never been on a toboggan, but I’ve seen them. (Generally we slid around on inner tubes when we went to the snow when I was a kid, then I graduated to skis.) Anyway, a common depiction of toboggan riders has them wearing long knit caps. I’d guess that a “toboggan” in Southern dialect might be a toque – especially a very long one.