chaperon

British  

/ ˈʃæpərənɪdʒ, ˈʃæpəˌrəʊn /

noun

1. (esp formerly) an older or married woman who accompanies or supervises a young unmarried woman on social occasions

2. someone who accompanies and supervises a group, esp of young people, usually when in public places

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verb

1. to act as a chaperon to

Other Word Forms

• chaperonage
  noun

Etymology

Origin of chaperon

C14: from Old French, from chape hood, protective covering; see _cap

Example Sentences

The 1922 edition contained a chapter on “The Chaperon and Other Conventions”; by 1927 it had been retitled “The Vanishing Chaperone and Other New Conventions”; and by 1937, “The Vanished Chaperone and Other Lost Conventions.”

From Time • May 18, 2016

“It’s like ‘Le Petit Chaperon Rouge,’ ” Ayouch observes, referring to the French version of the wolf-eats-grandma fable.

From Washington Post • Aug. 13, 2015

In the 17th century Charles Perrault turned an oral folk tale into “Le Petit Chaperon Rouge,” and three centuries later Angela Carter gave the story a wicked, feminist spin.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2011

Later, Physicist Georges Chaperon wound resistances into intertwined coils with the same result.

From Time Magazine Archive

He had the air of a host, pleased to show his treasures, and the Chaperon feared that I was playing some joke when I encouraged them to invade the quaint and pretty rooms.

From The Chauffeur and the Chaperon by Anderson, Karl