chaperon

English

Alternative forms

• chaperone

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French chaperon (“hood”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French, "head covering", from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French chape

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃæ.pəˌɹoʊn/
• IPA^(key): /ˈʃæ.pəˌɹəʊn/

Noun

chaperon (plural chaperons)

1. An adult who accompanies or supervises one or more young, unmarried men or women during social occasions, usually with the specific intent of preventing some types of social or sexual interactions or illegal behavior.
   • 1908, E. M. Forster, “I”, in A Room with a View:

     "I am, as it were," she concluded, "the chaperon of my young cousin, Lucy, and it would be a serious thing if I put her under an obligation to people of whom we know nothing. His manner was somewhat unfortunate. I hope I acted for the best."

2. A hood, especially, an ornamental or official hood.
   • Howell

     His head and face covered with a chaperon, out of which there are but two holes to look through.

3. A device placed on the foreheads of horses which draw the hearse in pompous funerals.

Translations

an adult who accompanies unmarried men or women — see chaperone

Verb

chaperon (third-person singular simple present chaperons, present participle chaperoning, simple past and past participle chaperoned)

1. to accompany, to escort
2. to mother

Translations

to accompany, to escort

• German: begleiten (de), eskortieren (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: сопровожда́ть (ru) (soprovoždátʹ)

to mother

• German: bemuttern (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• Cape Horn, canephor, car phone, carphone

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French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French, from chape (“head covering”) as the women who acted as chaperones wore head coverings. More at English cap, cape

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃa.pʁɔ̃/

Noun

chaperon m (plural chaperons)

1. chaperon

Related terms

• chaperonnage
• chaperonner
• chaperonnier

Further reading

• “chaperon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Old French

Etymology

From chape

Noun

chaperon oblique singular, m (oblique plural chaperons, nominative singular chaperons, nominative plural chaperon)

1. a hairstyle popular in the Middle Ages
2. headscarf for a woman
3. (falconry) hood for a bird of prey
4. type of sailing vessel