Word.ws English Dictionary

tabard

/ˈtæbɑː(ɹ)d/

tabard noun: a silk banner attached to a bugle or trumpet.

tabard: a silk banner attached to a bugle or trumpet
Image: Pretzelpaws, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

tabard (plural tabards)

  1. A silk banner attached to a bugle or trumpet.
  2. A sleeveless jerkin or loose overgarment.
    • The long rows of wheat-shocks marched like soldiers in worn yellow tabards.1920, Sinclair Lewis, chapter III, in Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, →OCLC, page 25
    • ‘I still cannot believe I actually did that!’ Maureen told me, recalling that time her and the Nanas turned up at former prime minister David Cameron's house in Oxfordshire on a tank Vivienne Westwood lent them, wearing tabards that said ‘The Oven Gloves Are Coming Off’.2017, Jamie Bartlett, chapter 7, in Radicals, William Heinemann, →ISBN
  3. (historical) A sleeveless garment made of coarse cloth formerly worn outdoors by the common people.
  4. (historical) A cape or tunic worn by a knight, emblazoned with the coat of arms of his king or queen on the front.
    • And thereupon, behold, a knight on a black horse appeared, clothed in jet-black velvet, and with a tabard of black linen about him.1858, Thomas Bulfinch, chapter II, in The Age of Chivalry
  5. (historical) A similar garment officially worn by a herald and emblazoned with his sovereign's coat of arms.
    • The heralds in their tabards were marvellous to behold, and a nod from Rouge Croix gave me the keenest gratification.1863, William Makepeace Thackeray, Roundabout Papers
    • Along the narrow winding path between the great oak trees there rode a dark sallow man in a scarlet tabard who blew so loudly upon a silver trumpet that they heard the clanging call long before they set eyes on him.1905–1906, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter XIII, in Sir Nigel, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], published January 1906, →OCLC

Examples of tabard in a sentence

  • This is the point at which someone usually suggests riders wear a numbered, hi-vis tabard.2022 January 31, Peter Walker, “Has the Times declared war on cyclists?”, in The Guardian:
  • She wore a short surcoat of scarlet, cut low around the shoulders, sleeveless, reaching just below her hips, like the tabards worn by medieval heralds.1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 25:

Forms of tabard

pluraltabards

Origin of tabard

From Old French tabart (“simple sleeveless overtunic; heavy overmantel”), of unknown origin.

Words formed from tabard

Questions about tabard

What does tabard mean?
Tabard means a silk banner attached to a bugle or trumpet.
How do you use tabard in a sentence?
This is the point at which someone usually suggests riders wear a numbered, hi-vis tabard.
What part of speech is tabard?
Tabard is a noun.
How do you pronounce tabard?
Tabard is pronounced /ˈtæbɑː(ɹ)d/.
What is the plural of tabard?
The plural of tabard is tabards.

Words near tabard in the dictionary

  1. tabanids
  2. tabanuco
  3. tabanucos
  4. Tabar
  5. Tabarchin
  6. tabard
  7. tabarded
  8. tabarder
  9. tabarders
  10. tabardillo
  11. tabards

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tabard (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-NaomiAmethyst-tabard.wav.

Cite this entry: “tabard.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tabard. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.