chaperone

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a responsible adult who accompanies and supervises one or more younger people, historically for safety and social propriety

   A teacher acted as chaperone during the overnight trip.

2. 2
   verb

   to accompany or supervise a person or group as a chaperone

   Several parents volunteered to chaperone the school dance.

3. 3
   noun

   biology: a protein that helps other proteins fold correctly by binding to and stabilizing their unfolded or partly folded forms

   The molecular chaperone helps newly made proteins fold correctly.

Simplified etymology

Chaperone ultimately comes from Latin cappa, “hood,” and was first recorded in late Middle English as a word for a hood. By the early 18th century it also meant a person who accompanied another to provide protection or cover.

From French chaperon, literally 'hood,' from chape, 'cape.' The French word developed the figurative sense of a protector or companion, as though providing a social covering. Chaperone is a later English spelling of chaperon. Biology adopted the term for proteins that guide and protect other proteins while they fold.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary