Jabot

/ʒæˈboʊ/ noun

Definition

A decorative ruffle or frill worn at the throat, originally part of men's formal dress and now used in women's fashion.

Etymology

From French 'jabot' meaning 'crop of a bird,' referring to the pouch where birds store food before digestion. The resemblance between the puffed-out fabric at a man's throat and a bird's swollen crop led to this ornithological fashion term. Originally worn by 17th-century French aristocrats as the height of masculine elegance, the jabot survived the French Revolution and migrated to women's fashion, where ruffled throat decorations became symbols of refined femininity.

Kelly Says

Every time someone wears a ruffled blouse with throat decoration, they're sporting a fashion term that literally means 'bird's food pouch'—French aristocrats thought puffed fabric at the neck looked like a well-fed bird's crop.

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