Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Epaulet

Ep′au·let′, Ep′au·lette′, n. [F. épaulette, dim. of épaule shoulder, fr. L. spatula a broad piece (LL., shoulder), dim. of spatha abroad, flat instrument, fr. Gr. σπάθη, also, a broad rib, shoulder blade. See Spade the instrument, and cf. Epaule, Spatula.] (Mil.) A shoulder ornament or badge worn by military and naval officers, differences of rank being marked by some peculiar form or device, as a star, eagle, etc.; a shoulder knot.

☞ In the United States service the epaulet is reserved for full dress uniform. Its use was abolished in the British army in 1855.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.