caparison

English

Etymology

From Middle French caparasson (Modern 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.
   • 1861, Charlotte Guest, transl., The Mabinogion/The Dream of Rhonabwy, translation of original in Middle Welsh:

     And the green of the caparison of the horse, and of his rider, was as green as the leaves of the fir-tree, and the yellow was as yellow as the blossom of the broom.

   • 2001, Walter A. Liedtke, Vermeer and the Delft School‎, 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

Catalan: gualdrapa f Danish: saddeldækken n, skaberak (da) n Finnish: loimi (fi) (ordinary rug), koristeloimi (ornamental) French: caparaçon (fr) m Ido: tegilo (io) Irish: gléas m Italian: gualdrappa (it) f Latin: ephippium n 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 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