THE FIRST WORD

chevron

PRONUNCIATION:

(SHEV-ruhn, -ron) 

MEANING:

noun: A pattern in the shape of a V or an inverted V.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French chevron (rafter, from the resemblance of the pattern to the shape of two rafters on a roof), from Latin caper (goat). The goat connection is not clear. Earliest documented use: 1395.

USAGE:

"Tommy watched a flight of geese fly overhead in chevron formation."
Lis Wiehl; Waking Hours; Thomas Nelson; 2011.