serape

plural serapes · alternative sarape · alternative zarape

1. A type of blanket worn as a cloak, especially by Spanish-Americans, or used as a saddle blanket.

   Could be, said John Grady. He took off his hat and lay back and pulled the serape over him.

   1992, Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, published 2007, unnumbered page

   3 more examples

   R. C. Gorman's painting depicts a tall woman wrapped in a serape in Joanie's beloved Southwest, standing in a canyon at night.

   1990 April 21, Elizabeth R. Brown, “It Was A Woman Who Killed Her”, in Gay Community News, page 5

   The serape was an item of Mexican dress that was worn by almost all classes. Made of wool dyed in bright colors and woven either in geometric patterns or plain with borders, a serape was a blanket used as a wrap, and due to the fabric's texture and tight weave, it was almost waterproof.[…]A serape was also used as a pillow, mattress, or cover, as well as a saddle blanket. Another body covering, the poncho, was similar to the serape but more rounded and not necessarily woven of wool.

   2004, Brenda Brandt, “Fashion”, in Mark Busby, editor, The Southwest, page 160

   “Diego, my son, fill your serape with the red roses growing at your feet and take them to the bishop,” she told him.

   2004, Charles Raymond Dillon, End of the Beginning, page 95