Definition

Noun: 1. A decorative knot of ribbons, a rosette, or a similar ornament, typically worn on a hat as a badge of office, membership, or political affiliation. It is a formal emblem, often in specific colors or patterns to signify allegiance to a country, military unit, or political cause.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The soldier's uniform was distinguished by a red, white, and blue cockade on his tricorn hat.
  • During the French Revolution, the tricolor cockade became a powerful national symbol.
  • The ambassador's formal attire included a black silk hat adorned with a gold-embroidered cockade.

Advanced Usage

• "To wear a cockade": To display a specific allegiance or membership publicly.
  • In that era, to wear the wrong political cockade in the wrong part of town could be dangerous.

Variants and Related Words

• Cockaded (adj): Describing something adorned with a cockade. This is a rare usage, primarily seen in historical or heraldic contexts.
  • The portrait showed a cockaded officer from the Napoleonic Wars.

Synonyms

• Rosette: A rose-shaped ornament, often made of ribbon, which can serve the same function as a cockade.
• Badge: A more general term for a distinctive emblem worn to show rank, membership, or achievement.
• Emblem: A heraldic device or symbolic object used as a badge of identification.

Idioms and Phrases

• While there are no common idioms using "cockade," the object itself is idiomatic of a bygone era of formal dress and clear, visible political symbolism. The phrase "the cockade of [a group/country]" is used to refer to its specific emblem.
  • He proudly sported the cockade of his regiment.

Noun

1. an ornament (such as a knot of ribbon or a rosette) usually worn on the hat