A liripipe (also liripoop, liripipion, liripion) is a historical part of clothing, the tail of a hood or cloak, or a long-tailed hood, in particular a chaperon or gugel, or the peak of a shoe. In modern times, the liripipe mostly refers to an element of academic dress, the tail of the cowl of an academic hood. Less commonly, it may also refer to the tassel or long tail on a graduate's mortarboard.[citation needed]
The word is believed to originate from the Medieval Latin term liripipium, which is of unsure origin. Webster's Dictionary suggests it is a corruption of cleri ephippium (clergy's caparison) but the Oxford English Dictionary, attributing the hypothesis to Gilles Ménage, calls it a "ludicrous guess".
Perhaps due to its academic association, it is also a word used to refer to "part or lesson committed to memory".
See "academic dress" for more information on hoods.
The word "liripoop" has also the meaning of "silly person", most probably because it is an inherently funny word, cf. "Nincompoop".
References
- "Liripipe" by Michael Quinion
- List of Favourite Words, Including "Liripipe" by Stephen Chrisomalis
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
