An adult who supervises young people at a social event to ensure proper behavior and safety.
From French 'chaperon,' originally meaning a hood or head covering worn by elderly women. It evolved to mean an older person who accompanied younger women in public, since wearing the hood indicated age and respectability.
The word 'chaperone' literally started as a fashion item—the hood that announced 'I'm old enough to be trusted with young people.' By the 1600s, the hood itself became so associated with proper supervision that the word transferred from the object to the person wearing it.
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