Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To attend (an unmarried girl or woman) in public: said of an older woman or a married woman.
- noun A conductor or guide; escort. Compare def. 4.
- noun A hood: a name given to hoods of various shapes at different times.
- noun Specifically A hood or cap worn by the Knights of the Garter when in full dress.
- noun A small shield containing crests, initials, etc., formerly placed on the foreheads of horses which drew the hearse in pompous funerals. Also written
chaperonne . - noun Formerly, one who attended a lady to public places as a guide or protector; a duenna; now, more especially, a married woman who, in accordance with the rules of etiquette, accompanies a young unmarried woman to public places or social entertainments.
- noun In entomology, the clypeus of the head of an insect; the part which supports the labrum or upper lip; the nasus; the epistoma.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A hood; especially, an ornamental or an official hood.
- noun A device placed on the foreheads of horses which draw the hearse in pompous funerals.
- noun A matron who accompanies a young lady in public, for propriety, or as a guide and protector.
- transitive verb To attend in public places as a guide and protector; to matronize.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
adult who accompanies orsupervises 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. - verb to
accompany , toescort - verb to
mother
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb accompany as a chaperone
- noun one who accompanies and supervises a young woman or gatherings of young people
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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She was a typical May-term chaperon, always pleasant, always hungry, and always tired.
The Longest Journey 1924
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French noun 'chaperon' - protector - and it is first recorded in Jane Austen's novel Sense And Sensibility,
WN.com - Articles related to Sleep your way to health and happiness 2010
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French noun 'chaperon' - protector - and it is first recorded in Jane Austen's novel Sense And Sensibility, murder Ashleigh Hall has referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints
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French noun 'chaperon' - protector - and it is first recorded in Jane Austen's novel Sense And Sensibility,
WN.com - Articles related to Sleep your way to health and happiness 2010
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French noun 'chaperon' - protector - and it is first recorded in Jane Austen's novel Sense And Sensibility,
WN.com - Articles related to Gates investigates role contractors play in intel 2010
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Women came on their own; they didn't feel they needed a chaperon, which is unusual at a big event with people from outside your social group, Rifaat said.
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In fact, a chaperon might be the wisest choice of all.
Almost a Whisper Charlene Cross 1994
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In fact, a chaperon might be the wisest choice of all.
Almost a Whisper Charlene Cross 1994
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The fact that the chaperon is a necessary institution, and that to married ladies and to elderly ladies should be paid all due respect, is a subject of which we shall treat later.
Manners and Social Usages Mrs. John M. E. W. Sherwood
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He can swagger about wherever he chooses without that most odious of encumbrances called a chaperon; and though I shouldn't care to smoke as many cigars as he does (much as I like the smell of them in the open air), yet I confess it must be delightfully independent to have a latchkey.
Kate Coventry An Autobiography G. J. Whyte-Melville
bilby commented on the word chaperon
I take my chaperon to the play—
She thinks she's taking me.
And the gilded youth who owns the box,
A proud young man is he—
But how would his young heart be hurt
If he could only know
That not for his sweet sake I go
Nor yet to see the trifling show;
But to see my chaperon flirt.
- Henry Cuyler Bunner, 'The Chaperon'.
September 15, 2009