Cloche is French for "bell," and both the garden cloche (a bell-shaped glass cover for plants) and the cloche hat (a close-fitting bell-shaped hat) take their names from this shape. The French word descends from Medieval Latin clocca ("bell"), which is likely of Celtic origin — Old Irish clocc and Welsh cloch both mean "bell" and may represent the source from which Latin borrowed the word. The ultimate origin is possibly onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of a bell struck.
The Medieval Latin clocca generated a remarkably productive family across European languages. English "clock" derives from it — the first mechanical clocks (13th–14th centuries) had no faces or hands but simply struck a bell to mark the hours. The clock was named for what it did (ring a bell), not what it showed (the time). German Glocke, Dutch klok, Swedish klocka, and French cloche all preserve the bell meaning
The cloche hat was the defining fashion accessory of the 1920s. Designed by Parisian milliner Caroline Reboux and popularized from about 1922 to 1933, it fitted closely over the head, pulled down low over the forehead, with a bell-shaped crown that covered the ears. The hat's tight fit required short hair — contributing to the popularity of the bob haircut that became the emblem of the flapper era. Different angles of the brim could signal the wearer's romantic
The garden cloche — a bell-shaped glass jar placed over individual plants to protect them from frost and create a warm microclimate — has a longer history. French market gardeners (maraîchers) used glass cloches extensively in the intensive gardening techniques developed around Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries, producing early-season vegetables for the city's markets. The bell jar concentrated solar heat and protected tender seedlings, functioning as a miniature greenhouse. Modern garden cloches are typically