redcap

Meaning

1. (British) A member of the Royal Military Police a unit in the British army.
2. (US) A porter in a US railway station.
3. (British, archaic) A European goldfinch, Eurasian goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis).
4. (British) A type of evil goblin or imp.
5. A breed of poultry.

Synonyms

porter

carrier

petitioner

plaintiff

suer

toter

bearer

errand runner

Translations

Gepäckträger

αχθοφόρος σιδηροδρομικού σταθμού

porteur

policial militar

mozo de estación

Etymology

Cognate with Japanese: 赤帽

Cognate with Chinese: 小紅帽

In summary

From red + cap.
In sense of "porter", 1890s US; compare contemporary Japanese 赤帽 (akabō), Chinese 小紅帽 /小红帽 (Xiǎo Hóng Mào). On Labor Day, 1890, John Williams, an African-American railway porter, tied a red ribbon to his black uniform cap to stand out from the crowd at Grand Central Terminal. The strategy was so successful that it was soon adopted by others in the profession, leading to the synecdochic use of redcap as a term for all railway porters.