cavesson

C3A1V4E1S1S1O1N1
/ˈkæv.ə.sən//ˈkæv.ɪ.sən/

noun

A part of a horse's bridle that consists of a headstall with a noseband. When a martingale is used, it is attached to the horse's head at the cavesson.

OriginFrench caveçon ← Italian cavezzone →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nouncavesson (plural cavessons)

plural cavessons · alternative caveson

  1. A part of a horse's bridle that consists of a headstall with a noseband. When a martingale is used, it is attached to the horse's head at the cavesson.

    I’ll be bound, Lady Ashton understands every machine for breaking in the human mind, and there are as many as there are cannon-bit, martingales, and cavessons for young colts.

    1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume III (The Bride of Lammermoor), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 8
    1 more example

    For many horses the best bit to use in the field is a plain snaffle, with very large rings, so that the bit cannot be pulled through the horse’s mouth. The bridle should have a cavesson, instead of the usual noseband.

    1912, Belle Beach, Riding and Driving for Women, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons

Origin

  1. Italiancavezzone
  2. Frenchcaveçon
  3. Englishcavesson

From French caveçon, from Italian cavezzone, augmentative of cavezza (“halter”), probably from Latin caput (“head”), although derivation from Germanic has also been suggested; compare Old English cæfl (“bit, muzzle”).

More words from French, Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French caveçon
  • caveçonpart of a horse's bridle
German Kappzaum
  • Kappzaumpart of a horse's bridle
Spanish cabezón
  • cabezónpart of a horse's bridle
Cite this entry
APA

cavesson. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavesson

MLA

“cavesson.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavesson. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cavesson,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavesson.

Source: cavesson on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.