chevron

Meaning

Noun

1. A V-shaped pattern; used in architecture, and as an insignia of military or police rank, on the sleeve.
2. A wide inverted V placed on a shield.
3. (British) One of the V-shaped markings on the surface of roads used to indicate minimum distances between vehicles.
4. A guillemet, either of the punctuation marks “«” or “»”, used in several languages to indicate passages of speech. Similar to typical quotation marks used in the English language such as ““” and “””.
5. An angle bracket, either used as a typographic or a scientific symbol.
6. (informal) A háček, a diacritical mark that may resemble an inverted circumflex.
7. A wedge-shaped sediment deposit observed on coastlines and continental interiors around the world.
8. Synonym of arrowhead (“horse jump obstacle”).

Verb

To form or be formed into chevrons

Synonyms

stripe

grade insignia

stripes

long-service stripe

gallon

chevron moth

chevron tang

service stripe

dancette

black surgeonfish

rafter

Hawaiian bristletooth

Hawaiian kole

Translations

chevron

galón

Sparren

chevrón

cabria

Zwergstrauch-Haarbüschelspanner

scaglione

γαλόνι

keper

xebró

Eulithis testata

asna

gallone

σιρίτι

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʃɛvɹən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cheveroun

In summary

From Middle English cheveroun, from Old French chevron, the mark so called because it looks like rafters of a shallow roof, from Vulgar Latin *capriō, from Latin caper (“goat”), the likely connection between goats and rafters being the animal's horns.