tabard

English

Girl wearing a tabard

Etymology

From Old French tabart (“simple sleeveless overtunic; heavy overmantel”), of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtæbɑː(ɹ)d/

Noun

tabard (plural tabards)

1. A silk banner attached to a bugle or trumpet.
2. A sleeveless jerkin or loose overgarment.
   • 1920, Sinclair Lewis, chapter III, in Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, →OCLC, page 25:

     The long rows of wheat-shocks marched like soldiers in worn yellow tabards.

   • 2017, Jamie Bartlett, chapter 7, in Radicals, William Heinemann, →ISBN:

     ‘I still cannot believe I actually did that!’ Maureen told me, recalling that time her and the Nanas turned up at former prime minister David Cameron's house in Oxfordshire on a tank Vivienne Westwood lent them, wearing tabards that said ‘The Oven Gloves Are Coming Off’.

   • 2022 January 31, Peter Walker, “Has the Times declared war on cyclists?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     This is the point at which someone usually suggests riders wear a numbered, hi-vis tabard.

3. (historical) A sleeveless garment made of coarse cloth formerly worn outdoors by the common people.
4. (historical) A cape or tunic worn by a knight, emblazoned with the coat of arms of his king or queen on the front.
   • 1858, Thomas Bulfinch, chapter II, in The Age of Chivalry‎^[2]:

     And thereupon, behold, a knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a tabard of black linen about him.

5. (historical) A similar garment officially worn by a herald and emblazoned with his sovereign's coat of arms.
   • 1863, William Makepeace Thackeray, Roundabout Papers:

     The heralds in their tabards were marvellous to behold, and a nod from Rouge Croix gave me the keenest gratification.

   • 1905–1906, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter XIII, in Sir Nigel, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published January 1906, →OCLC:

     Along the narrow winding path between the great oak trees there rode a dark sallow man in a scarlet tabard who blew so loudly upon a silver trumpet that they heard the clanging call long before they set eyes on him.

Derived terms

• tabarded

Translations

sleeveless jerkin

• Catalan: tabard (ca) m
• French: tabard (fr) m
• Spanish: tabardo (es) m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Manx: ^{(please verify)} tabard m

See also

• surcoat
• scapular

Anagrams

• batard

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French tabart (“simple sleeveless overtunic; heavy overmantel”), of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [təˈβart]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [təˈbart]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [taˈbaɾt]

Noun

tabard m (plural tabards)

1. (historical) tabard
2. pea coat

Further reading

• “tabard” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French tabart (“simple sleeveless overtunic; heavy overmantel”), of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ta.baʁ/

Noun

tabard m (plural tabards)

1. tabard

Further reading

• “tabard”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.