The Word of the Day

caparison \kuh-PAIR-uh-sun\ noun
1 a : an ornamental covering for a horse b : decorative trappings and harness
*2 : rich clothing : adornment

Example sentence: For her role as the queen, the costume department fitted Rita with the kind of caparisons suitable only for royalty.

Did you know? "Caparison" first embellished English in the 1500s, when we borrowed it from the Middle French "caparacon." Early caparisons were likely used to display the heraldic colors of a horseman, and in some cases may also have functioned as protective covering for the horse. In British India, elephants, not horses, were decked out with caparisons -- and to this day both animals can still be seen in such attire during parades and circuses. It did not take long for "caparison" to come to refer to the ornate clothing worn by a man or woman. "Caparison" also serves English as a verb, a use first recorded in Shakespeare when Richard III commanded, "Come, bustle, bustle; caparison my horse."