caparison

noun

"caparison" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“caparison” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.

Corpus desk

Index EN-caparison · caparison · English

caparison · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for caparison
PropertyValue
Headwordcaparison
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “caparison” in English

caparisonfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

caparison is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for caparison, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French caparasson (Modern French caparaçon), from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon. The correct English form is caparison, spelled C-A-P-A-R-I-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.
  2. 2
    Gay or rich clothing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how caparison appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And the green of the caparison of the horse, and of his rider, was as green as the leaves of the fir-tree, and the yellow was as yellow as the blossom of the broom.
  2. That very year they received an order from Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden (1594-1632) for a large number of tapestries and four caparisons.

Etymology

From Middle French caparasson (Modern French caparaçon), from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "caparison"?
"caparison" is spelled C-A-P-A-R-I-S-O-N.
What does "caparison" mean?
As a noun, "caparison" means: The often ornamental coverings for an animal, especially a horse or an elephant.
What is the origin of the word "caparison"?
From Middle French caparasson (Modern French caparaçon), from Old Spanish caparazón, from Old Occitan capairon. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list