cravat

American  

[kruh-vat] / krəˈvæt /

noun

1. necktie.

2. a cloth, often made of or trimmed with lace, worn about the neck by men especially in the 17th century.

3. Medicine/Medical. a bandage made by folding a triangular piece of material into a band, used temporarily for a fracture or wound.

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cravat British  

/ krəˈvæt /

noun

1. a scarf of silk or fine wool, worn round the neck, esp by men

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Etymology

Origin of cravat

1650–60; < French cravate neckcloth, literally, Croat (< German Krabate < Serbo-Croatian hr̀vāt ); so called because worn by Croatian mercenaries in the French army

Example Sentences

It was a man “dressed in a white cravat, and a brown coat of the olden style.”

From Literature

“How beautiful she is in her shining raiment,” he rhapsodizes, “her birch-bark body, her sable bodice, her white cravat, her goffered ruff.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He wore bright cravats, pointed shoes and yellow kid gloves.

From The Wall Street Journal

The men are all of them dandies, smoking pipes and wearing colorful cravats at the neck.

From Literature

Voluptuous bow ties and cravats worn scrunchily with fisherman sandals and socks.

From Los Angeles Times