pelerine means A kind of short cape or covering for the shoulders, associated especially with medieval pilgrims (of any gender). Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why this word is great
PELERINE — [Noun] A short cape or shoulder covering, historically associated with medieval pilgrims or as a woman's tippet with long front ends. From French pèlerine (feminine of pèlerin, "pilgrim"), from Late Latin pelegrīnus ("pilgrim, foreigner"). Unlike a "tippet" (which clings narrowly to the neck) or a "mantle" (which swallows the body in folds), a pelerine is a modest armor against the elements, a whisper of fabric that suggests motion even in stillness. It is the pilgrim’s threadbare shield against the wind on the road to Compostela, the lace-trimmed flourish on a Victorian lady’s afternoon promenade, the woolen whisper of warmth on a nun’s habit—a garment that speaks of journeys, both sacred and mundane, and the small, stubborn ways we protect ourselves from the world’s chill.
noun
- A kind of short cape or covering for the shoulders, associated especially with medieval pilgrims (of any gender).“[…] Around his shoulders, he wore a thick gray pelerine. This was the custom of the knights of the Kingdom of the Spears, the land of the beaches and the chalk cliffs with great castles[…]”
- A woman's tippet or cape with long ends coming down in front.“Pilgrims, male or female, wore gowns […] A hood was usually added, but even if that were omitted, the pilgrim wore a shoulder-cape, a custom so universal that this type of cape came to be called a "pelerine," a name still used in the nineteenth century to describe the short capes fashionable in women's dress.”