Small decorative badges or ribbons, typically worn on hats or clothing, often as a symbol of allegiance or military affiliation.
From French cocarde, derived from coq (rooster), likely because the decoration resembled a rooster's comb or plumage. The term became popular during the French Revolution as a symbol of national pride.
Cockades became so politically charged during the French Revolution that wearing the wrong color—white for royalists or tricolor for revolutionaries—could literally determine whether you lived or died. They're basically the social media badges of the 18th century.
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