Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A scarf or band of fabric worn around the neck as a tie.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A neckcloth; a piece of muslin, silk, or other material worn about the neck, generally outside a linen collar, by men, and less frequently by women.
  • To put on or wear a cravat; invest with a cravat.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A neckcloth; a piece of silk, fine muslin, or other cloth, worn by men about the neck.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A wide fabric band worn as a necktie by men, having long ends hanging in front.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun neckwear worn in a slipknot with long ends overlapping vertically in front

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French cravate, necktie worn by Croatian mercenaries in the service of France, from Cravate, a Croatian, from German dialectal Krabate, from Serbo-Croatian Hrvāt.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French cravate, an appellative use of Cravate, from Dutch Krawaat, from German Krawatte, from Serbo-Croatian Hr̀vāt/Хр̀ва̄т ("Croat").

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Examples

  • And there is the longish face; and the rather thin, stuck-out moustache, shewing both lips which pout a bit; and there is the nearly black hair; and there is the rather visible paunch; and there is, oh good Heaven, the neat pink cravat -- ah, it must have been _that -- the cravat_ -- that made me burst out into laughter so loud, mocking, and uncontrollable the moment my eye rested there!

    The Purple Cloud 1906

  • In France, the aristocracy followed, wearing silk neckwear they termed cravat, from the French word for Croat.

    A Return to Tying the Knot William Lyons 2011

  • And this impression is greatly helped by the fantastical finery of his dress: sky-blue satin cravat, yards of gold chain, white French gloves, light drab great-coat lined with velvet of the same colour, invisible inexpressibles, skin-coloured and fitting like a glove, etc., etc.

    New Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle 1893

  • Lagan Bayomobo, a 13-year-old A.B. Davis Middle School student, will represent Mount Vernon in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. By spelling the word cravat correctly Legan was able to secure his fate an be declared the winner of the district spelling bee.

    The Hall Monitor 2009

  • In a sartorial choice that has baffled and dismayed people ever since, upper-class Parisians adopted the mercenaries 'knotted scarf, which they called a "cravat" - a mispronunciation of the word "Croat" probably caused by a restricted larynx.

    Pipes Output 2009

  • He was attired in perfectly-tailored evening-dress, and the cut of the suit suggested that the large diamond stickpin in his cravat was the genuine article and not paste.

    red dust Ryn Cricket 2010

  • He spoke to my high school Creative Writing class, and all I remember about him besides the fact that he was the first person I know to wear a cravat were his complaints about being misunderstood by the publishing community.

    Kristine Kathryn Rusch » 2008 » June 2008

  • He spoke to my high school Creative Writing class, and all I remember about him besides the fact that he was the first person I know to wear a cravat were his complaints about being misunderstood by the publishing community.

    Kristine Kathryn Rusch » 2008 » June » 25 2008

  • He spoke to my high school Creative Writing class, and all I remember about him besides the fact that he was the first person I know to wear a cravat were his complaints about being misunderstood by the publishing community.

    Kristine Kathryn Rusch » Editorial June 1996 2008

  • The cravat is a bit tricky to get looking right and the white cotton gloves are slightly too small.

    August 18th, 2008 curufea 2008

Comments

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  • The word comes, ultimately, from the ethnonym Hrvat, "Croatian", via the French cravate, because of the kind of scarf worn by Croatian mercenaries in France.

    January 3, 2008

  • "At four bells in the afternoon watch, or two by the clocks in the town, Jack was sitting in front of a small looking-glass in his sleeping cabin with a freshly-laundered cravat the size of a topgallant studdingsail spread out ready to be folded about his neck..."

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Far Side of the World, 57

    February 20, 2008

  • Haha! I like it.

    February 20, 2008