caparison

English

Knight on caparisoned steed

Etymology

From Middle French caparaçon, from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon.

Noun

caparison (plural caparisons)

1. The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.
   • 2001, Walter A. Liedtke, Vermeer and the Delft School‎^[1], page 520:

     That very year they received an order from Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden (1594-1632) for a large number of tapestries and four caparisons.

2. Gay or rich clothing.
   • 1749, [Tobias George Smollett], The Regicide: Or, James the First, of Scotland. A Tragedy. […], London: […] [F]or the benefit of the author, →OCLC, Act III, scene iv, page 37:

     What boots it, that my Fortune decks me thus / With unſubſtantial Plumes; when my Heart groans / Beneath the gay Capariſon, and Love / With unrequited Paſſion wounds my Soul!

Translations

coverings for an animal, often ornamental

• Finnish: loimi (fi) (ordinary rug), koristeloimi (ornamental)
• French: caparaçon (fr) m
• Ido: tegilo (io)
• Irish: gléas m
• Latin: ephippium n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: برگستوان (fa) (bargostvân)
• Polish: kropierz (pl) m
• Russian: попо́на (ru) f (popóna), чепра́к (ru) f (čeprák)
• Spanish: caparazón (es) m

gay or rich clothing

• Finnish: hepenet pl
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: gléas m

Verb

caparison (third-person singular simple present caparisons, present participle caparisoning, simple past and past participle caparisoned)

1. To dress up a horse or elephant with ornamental coverings.
   • 1593, Shakespeare, Richard III, Act 5, Scene 3.

     Come, bustle, bustle; caparison my horse

Further reading

• caparison on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Sparacino, paranoics