caparison

English

Knight on caparisoned steed

Etymology

From Middle French caparaçon, from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon.

Noun

caparison (plural caparisons)

The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.
- 1861, Charlotte Guest (translator), The Mabinogion/The Dream of Rhonabwy:
  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.
Gay or rich clothing.
- 1749, Tobias Smollett, The Regicide:
  My heart groans beneath the gay caparison.

Translations

coverings for an animal, often ornamental

Finnish: loimi (fi) (ordinary rug), koristeloimi (ornamental)
Ido: tegilo (io)
Irish: gléas m
Latin: ephippium n

Persian: برگستوان‎ (fa) (bargostvân)
Polish: kropierz (pl) m
Russian: попо́на (ru) f (popóna), чепра́к (ru) f (čeprák)

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)

To dress up a horse or elephant with ornamental coverings.
- 1593, Shakespeare, Richard III, Act 5, Scene 3.
  Come, bustle, bustle; caparison my horse

Anagrams

Sparacino, paranoics