Meanings
plural epaulettes · alternative epaulet
- An ornamentation, worn on the shoulders of a military uniform, as a sign of rank.
He would have answered for it at the end of a quarter of an hour that some of the glass cases contained swords and epaulettes of ancient colonels and generals; medals and orders once pinned over hearts that had long since ceased to beat; […]
1903 September 28, Henry James, The Ambassadors, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLCSynonyms: shoulder board, shoulder mark, shoulder strap
- The red patch on the shoulders of a red-winged blackbird.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ornamentation, worn on the shoulders of a military uniform, as a sign of rank.
nounA plate on the anterior wings of some insects.
More synonyms by meaning
nounadornment consisting of an ornamental cloth pad worn on the shoulder
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchépaulette
- Englishepaulette
From French épaulette, from épaule (“shoulder”) + -ette (diminutive).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian еполе́т, паго́н
- еполе́т (epolét)ornamentation
- паго́н (pagón)ornamentation
Catalan xarretera, musclera
- xarreteraornamentation
- muscleratrimming
- espatlleratrimming
Chinese Mandarin 肩章
- 肩章 (jiānzhāng)ornamentation
Czech nárameník, epoleta
- nárameníkornamentation
- epoletaornamentation
Esperanto epoleto
- epoletoornamentation
Finnish olkain, epoletti
- olkainornamentation
- epolettiornamentation
French épaulette
- épauletteornamentation
German Schulterstück, Schulterklappe
- Schulterstückornamentation
- Schulterklappeornamentation
- Achselklappeornamentation
- Epauletteornamentation
- Schulterbesatzornamentation
Greek επωμίδα
- επωμίδα (epomída)ornamentation
Hawaiian pīlali
- pīlaliornamentation
Irish guailleog
- guailleogornamentation
Italian spallina, mostrina
- spallinaornamentation
- mostrinaornamentation
Japanese 肩章
- 肩章 (kenshō)ornamentation
Korean 견장
- 견장 (gyeonjang)ornamentation
Persian سردوشی, پاگون
- سردوشی (sarduši)ornamentation
- پاگون (pâgon)ornamentation
Polish epolet, galon
- epoletornamentation
- galonornamentation
- naramiennikornamentation
- pagonornamentation
Portuguese dragona
- dragonaornamentation
Russian пого́н, эполе́т
- пого́н (pogón)ornamentation
- эполе́т (epolét)ornamentation
Slovak epoleta
- epoletaornamentation
Spanish hombrera, charretera
- hombreraornamentation
- charreteraornamentation
Swedish epålett
- epålettornamentation
Thai อินทรธนู
- อินทรธนู (in-tá-nuu)ornamentation
Ukrainian пого́н, еполе́т
- пого́н (pohón)ornamentation
- еполе́т (epolét)ornamentation
Cite this entry
epaulette. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epaulette
“epaulette.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epaulette. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epaulette,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epaulette.
Source: epaulette on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.