CHAPERON, noun A hood or cap worn by the knights of the garter in their habits. It was anciently worn by men, women, nobles and populace; afterwards appropriated to doctors and licentiates in colleges. The name then passed to certain devices placed on the foreheads of horses which drew the herse in pompous funerals.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI