What does cravat mean?
A cravat is a strip or scarf of fine fabric — silk, muslin, or lace — worn around the neck and either knotted or tucked inside an open collar as an item of dress. Emerging in seventeenth-century Europe, when Croatian mercenaries at the French court wore distinctive neck cloths that Parisian gentlemen eagerly imitated, the cravat became a fixture of male fashion for some two hundred years. Over time it evolved through ever-more-elaborate knots and styles, ultimately giving rise to the modern necktie, though in contemporary British usage 'cravat' still denotes a soft, formal neck scarf of the ascot type. The word carries connotations of elegance, old-world formality, and period drama: one speaks of a carefully tied silk cravat or a dandy's immaculate cravat. It also had a now-obsolete medical sense, denoting a bandage used to bind or support a wounded limb.
A band or scarf of fabric worn around the neck, knotted or tucked inside an open collar, especially as a formal accessory.
"The duke wore a white silk cravat with his evening attire."
In current British usage, often synonymous with an ascot; in American usage, chiefly encountered in historical or formal contexts.
(Historical, medicine) A bandage or sling used to support or immobilise an injured arm or neck.
"The field medic bound the wound with a cravat improvised from a shirt sleeve."
Standard regular plural; used both for multiple items of neckwear and for repeated historical references.
"The tailor displayed rows of silk cravats in every shade of blue."
The cravat is literally named for the Croats — 17th-century Croatian mercenaries whose distinctive neck scarves so impressed Parisians that they copied them, launching three centuries of men's neckwear.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cravat
Cravat entered English in the mid-seventeenth century from French 'cravate', which itself derived from 'Cravate' meaning 'a Croat', after the Croatian soldiers serving in the French army whose characteristic neck scarves were adopted by French fashion. The word spread widely across European languages in the same era, reflecting how quickly the fashion travelled. Its ultimate root is thus an ethnonym — the South Slavic name for the Croatian people — making cravat a rare English word borrowed from the name of a nationality via a piece of clothing.
Related word forms
How cravat is actually used
Chiefly British in modern everyday use, where it can also refer to what Americans would call a dressy ascot. In historical or costume contexts it describes the elaborate 17th–19th-century neck cloths that preceded the necktie. The medical sense (a bandage sling) is now largely historical.
Easily confused with cravat
An ascot is a wide, formally tied neck scarf usually worn under a shirt with a stickpin, while a cravat is the broader term for any neck cloth and often refers to a looser, tucked style.
Crabat is an obsolete spelling/variant referring to Croatian light cavalrymen, whereas cravat refers to the neckwear itself.