An archaic or heraldic term for an embrace, especially the ceremonial embrace given during a knighting.
From Old French acolle, derived from à (to) + col (neck). This word represents an early stage in the evolution toward the modern 'accolade.'
This is essentially the Middle French equivalent of 'accoll'—you could write a fascinating paper on how the same gesture (neck embrace) transformed into the modern abstract concept of 'accolade' (praise or honor).
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.