Caparison

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.

    "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."

  2. 2
    stable gear consisting of a decorated covering for a horse, especially (formerly) for a warhorse wordnet
  3. 3
    Gay or rich clothing.

    "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!"

Verb
  1. 1
    To dress up a horse or elephant with ornamental coverings.

    "Come, bustle, bustle; caparison my horse"

  2. 2
    put a caparison on wordnet

Example

More examples

"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."

Etymology

From Middle French caparasson (Modern French caparaçon), from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.