caparison
1 of 2noun
caparison
2 of 2verb
transitive verb
Virginia Woolf
Did you know?
Caparison first embellished English in the 1500s, when we borrowed it from the Middle French caparaçon. 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, it was elephants, not horses, that 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."
Synonyms
Noun
- array
- best
- bravery
- feather
- finery
- frippery
- full dress
- gaiety
- gayety
- glad rags
- regalia
Verb
- apparel
- array
- attire
- bedeck
- clothe
- costume
- deck (out)
- do up
- dress
- dress up
- enrobe
- garb
- garment
- get up
- gown
- habit
- invest
- rig (out)
- robe
- suit
- tog (up or out)
- toilet
- vesture
Example Sentences
Word History
Noun
Middle French caparaçon, from Old Spanish caparazón
Noun
1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1594, in the meaning defined above
caparisons 1 of 2
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- ornamentations
- ornaments
- decorations
- adornments
- garnitures
- trims
- setoffs
- fineries
- embellishments
- embroideries
- beautifiers
- doodads
- frills
- embellishers
- garnishes
- furbelows
- figures
- apparels
- filigrees
- glitters
- garnishments
- furnishings
- fripperies
- bells and whistles
- flounces
- frostings
- ruffles
- improvements
- embossments
- trappings
- designs
- enrichments
- appliqués
- enhancements
- regalia
- chichis
- emblazonries
- bric-a-brac
- flourishes
- patterns
- gilts
- blazonries
- frou-frous
- bedizenments
- fancyworks
- fal-lals
- foofaraws
- froufrous
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- scars
- disfigurements
- spots
- blemishes
- stains
- blots
- defacements
caparisons
2 of 2verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- clothes
- dresses
- costumes
- vestures
- attires
- robes
- garments
- garbs
- gowns
- bedecks
- habits
- suits
- apparels
- drapes
- toilets
- arrays
- enrobes
- frocks
- wraps
- cloaks
- jackets
- mantles
- dresses up
- does up
- uniforms
- decks (out)
- outfits
- rigs (out)
- gets up
- vests
- togs (up or out)
- tailors
- swathes
- furnishes
- invests
- haps
- swaddles
- huddles
- enswathes
- bedights
- equips
- dresses down
- accoutres
- accouters
- habilitates
- underdresses
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- strips
- undresses
- disrobes
- unclothes
- disarrays
- denudes
- untrusses
- divests
- uncovers
- undrapes
- unveils
Synonyms & Similar Words
- adorns
- decorates
- drapes
- ornaments
- dresses
- bedecks
- festoons
- trims
- decks
- graces
- blazons
- paints
- arrays
- enriches
- beautifies
- embosses
- garnishes
- embellishes
- does up
- bedizens
- emblazes
- dolls up
- fancies up
- gussies up
- fancifies
- does
- furbelows
- traps
- garlands
- ribbons
- feathers
- embroiders
- figures
- glitzes (up)
- pretties (up)
- swags
- jewels
- filigrees
- braids
- gilds
- frills
- gems
- flounces
- dresses up
- wreathes
- fillets
- fringes
- chases
- freshens
- diamonds
- accessorizes
- appliqués
- brightens
- pearls
- laces
- tricks (out)
- bosses
- smartens
- hangs
- redecorates
- redoes
- impearls
- spruces (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- scars
- disfigures
- spoils
- defaces
- displays
- mars
- strips
- reveals
- denudes
- blemishes
- simplifies
- streamlines
- divests
- bares
- exposes
- dismantles
- uncovers
- uglifies