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A liripipe (also liripoop, liripipion, liripion) is a historical part of clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
, the tail of a hood
Hood (headgear)

A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck and sometimes the face. They may be worn for protection from the environment, for fashion, as a form of traditional Clothing or uniform, to prevent the wearer seeing or to prevent the wearer being identified....
 or cloak
Cloak

A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat—it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform....
, or a long-tailed hood, in particular a chaperon
Chaperon (headgear)

Chaperon was a form of hood or, later, highly versatile hat worn in all parts of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Initially a utilitarian garment, it first grew a long partly decorative tail behind, and then developed into a complex, versatile and expensive headgear after what was originally the vertical opening for the face began to be u...
 or gugel
Gugel

A Gugel was a type of hood with a trailing point, popularly worn in medieval Germany. It was tailored to fit the head and shoulders, and was usually made from wool or loden....
, or the peak of a shoe. In modern times, the liripipe mostly refers to an element of academic dress
Academic dress

Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia settings, primarily Tertiary education and sometimes Secondary schools education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them ....
, the tail of the cowl of an academic hood. Less commonly, it may also refer to the tassel
Tassel

A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. The tassel is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe....
 or long tail on a graduate's mortarboard
Square academic cap

The square academic cap, often called a mortarboard or Oxford cap, is an item of academic regalia head dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel, or liripipe, attached to the center....
.

The word is believed to originate from the Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
 term 'liripipium' of unsure origin.






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A liripipe (also liripoop, liripipion, liripion) is a historical part of clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
, the tail of a hood
Hood (headgear)

A hood is a kind of headgear that covers most of the head and neck and sometimes the face. They may be worn for protection from the environment, for fashion, as a form of traditional Clothing or uniform, to prevent the wearer seeing or to prevent the wearer being identified....
 or cloak
Cloak

A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat—it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform....
, or a long-tailed hood, in particular a chaperon
Chaperon (headgear)

Chaperon was a form of hood or, later, highly versatile hat worn in all parts of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Initially a utilitarian garment, it first grew a long partly decorative tail behind, and then developed into a complex, versatile and expensive headgear after what was originally the vertical opening for the face began to be u...
 or gugel
Gugel

A Gugel was a type of hood with a trailing point, popularly worn in medieval Germany. It was tailored to fit the head and shoulders, and was usually made from wool or loden....
, or the peak of a shoe. In modern times, the liripipe mostly refers to an element of academic dress
Academic dress

Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia settings, primarily Tertiary education and sometimes Secondary schools education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them ....
, the tail of the cowl of an academic hood. Less commonly, it may also refer to the tassel
Tassel

A tassel is a finishing feature in fabric decoration. The tassel is a universal ornament that is seen in varying versions in many cultures around the globe....
 or long tail on a graduate's mortarboard
Square academic cap

The square academic cap, often called a mortarboard or Oxford cap, is an item of academic regalia head dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upon a skull-cap, with a tassel, or liripipe, attached to the center....
.

The word is believed to originate from the Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin

Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration....
 term 'liripipium' of unsure origin. Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary

Webster's Dictionary is the name given to a common type of English language dictionary in the United States. The name is derived from lexicographer Noah Webster and has become a genericized trademark for this type of dictionary....
 suggests it is a corruption of cleri ephippium (clergy's caparison
Caparison

A caparison is a covering, or cloth, laid over a horse or other animal, especially a pack animal, or horse of state. In modern times, it is used mainly for decoration in parades and for historical reenactments....
) but the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press , is a comprehensive dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989; as of December 2008 the dictionary's current editors have completed a quarter of the third edition....
, attributing the hypothesis to Gilles Ménage
Gilles Ménage

Gilles M?nage , was a France scholar.He was born at Angers, the son of Guillaume M?nage, king's advocate at Angers, where Gilles was born.A good memory and enthusiasm for learning carried him quickly through his literary and professional studies, and he practised at the bar at Angers before he was twenty....
, calls it a "ludicrous guess".

See "academic dress
Academic dress

Academic dress or academical dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia settings, primarily Tertiary education and sometimes Secondary schools education, worn mainly by those that have been admitted to a university degree or hold a status that entitles them to assume them ....
" for more information on hoods.

The word "liripoop" has also the meaning of "silly person", most probably because it is an inherently funny word
Inherently funny word

The claim that words are inherently funny, for reasons ranging from onomatopoeia to phonosemantics to sexual innuendo, is well documented among people who work in humor....
, cf. "Nincompoop
Nincompoop

A nincompoop is an English language term usually meant to describe a person who is silly, foolish, stupid, and/or useless.The actual origins of the term are unknown, but some people speculate that it was coined by British playwright William Wycherley in 1676....
".