cravat

UK: /krəˈvæt/ US: /krəˈvæt/ ,(krə vat′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

cra•vat /krəˈvæt/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing necktie (def. 1).
2. Clothing a scarf worn about the neck and folded at the front with the ends tucked into the neckline of one's shirt.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cra•vat  (krə vat′), n. 

1. necktie (defs. 1, 2).
2. a cloth, often made of or trimmed with lace, worn about the neck by men esp. in the 17th century.
3. [Med.] a bandage made by folding a triangular piece of material into a band, used temporarily for a fracture or wound.

• Serbo-Croatian hr̀vāt); so called because worn by Croatian mercenaries in the French army
• German Krabate
• French cravate neckcloth, literally, Croat (
• 1650–60

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cravat, cravate / krəˈvæt/ noun

1. a scarf of silk or fine wool, worn round the neck, esp by men

Etymology: 17th Century: from French cravate, from Serbo-Croat Hrvat Croat; so called because worn by Croats in the French army during the Thirty Years' War