chevron

Where does the word "chevron" come from? It comes from Latin caper, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Chevron’s story begins in Latin: caper meant “goat.” A plain word for a male goat. By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Old French as chevron. Named for a roof rafter, because a shallow roof's angled timbers looked like a goat's bent hind legs. It reached English by 1300s as chevron. A heraldic charge shaped like two rafters meeting; from Old French for a rafter, 'little goat'. Today, chevron means a V-shaped pattern or badge, especially denoting military rank.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient caper "goat", a plain word for a male goat.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · 1200s chevron "rafter; an inverted-V shape", named for a roof rafter, because a shallow roof's angled timbers looked like a goat's bent hind legs.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s chevron "an inverted V-shaped stripe or emblem", a heraldic charge shaped like two rafters meeting; from Old French for a rafter, 'little goat'.