epaulet

[ ep-uh-let, -lit, ep-uh-let ]

/ ˈɛp əˌlɛt, -lɪt, ˌɛp əˈlɛt /

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noun

an ornamental shoulder piece worn on uniforms, chiefly by military officers.

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

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Origin of epaulet

1775–85; <French épaulette, equivalent to épaule shoulder (<Latin spatula blade; see spatula) + -ette-ette

M. de Faverges had fallen back on the National Guard, without obtaining the epaulet of commander.
Bouvard and Pcuchet|Gustave Flaubert
Like the Zouaves, this last-named corps is a favourite with adventurous volunteers, ambitious of distinction and the epaulet.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 68, No 420, October 1850|Various
We also find a tight sleeve gathered in a circular puff at the shoulder or set in a rolled epaulet.
Dress design|Talbot Hughes
On each side of his neck he has a bare orange-coloured spot, and near it a downy epaulet.
The Western World|W.H.G. Kingston

He only had a blue and red epaulet on his white drill tunic, there was no red cross on his arm.
Sketches of the East Africa Campaign|Robert Valentine Dolbey