chaperon English · revision 1088

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈʃæ.pəˌɹəʊn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈʃæ.pəˌɹoʊn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|chaperon|t=hood; protector]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Old French ''chaperon'' “hood, cowl”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a diminutive of ''chape'' “cape”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Late Latin ''cappa''.^(Barnhart 1995) It is related to [[cape]] and [[cap]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hood or cap worn by nobles (about 1380; about 1400 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In French the verb ''chaperonner'' “to cover with a hood” came to mean “to protect”, and under its influence the noun came to mean an escort.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) This sense was borrowed into English in 1720,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) for a married or older woman who accompanies a young unmarried woman in public.^(AHD)^(OED 1989) The English verb is first recorded in 1796, in Jane Austen's ''Sense and Sensibility''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) The general sense of an escort or guide is from 1874.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1380 – a hood.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1720 – a woman accompanying a young unmarried woman.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – verb, to act as chaperon.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1874 – an escort or guide.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person, especially an older or married woman, who accompanies a young unmarried woman in public.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

+ # An adult who supervises young people at a social gathering, such as a school dance.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A guide or companion whose purpose is to ensure propriety or restrict activity.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A hood with a cape, worn in the Middle Ages.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To act as chaperon to; to [[escort]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chaperonage]]

+ * [[chaperonless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chaperone]]

+ * [[cape]]

+ * [[cap]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The spelling ''chaperone'' is also common;^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) the OED, quoted by Etymonline, says English writers adopted it in the mistaken belief that a feminine ending was needed.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}