shoulder knot

American  

noun

1. a knot of ribbon or lace worn on the shoulder, as by men of fashion in the 17th and 18th centuries, by servants in livery, or by women or children.

2. one of a pair of detachable ceremonial ornaments consisting of braided cord, worn on the shoulders by a commissioned officer.

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Etymology

Origin of shoulder knot

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Mistress Penwick was beneath a great lustre that shone down and set her shoulder knot ablaze with brilliancy, when Lady Constance passed and noted it.

From Mistress Penwick by Payne, Dutton

He is jogging along fast, his "shoulder knot a-creaking," and the water that splashes on to the hot dust intensifies the feeling of heat and light.

From From Edinburgh to India & Burmah by Burn Murdoch, W. G. (William Gordon)

He was now in an adjutant's uniform with one epaulet and a shoulder knot.

From War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

Alone and unprotected he was at the mercy of everybody, and he found to his great surprise that his shoulder knot and his gold lace commanded no respect.

From Emile by Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

The Sand Piper wore his sash jauntily with a huge shoulder knot, and he, too, had a cockaded headgear.

From Marjorie at Seacote by Wells, Carolyn