Cordon

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. A cord or ribbon bestowed or borne as a badge of honor; a broad ribbon, usually worn after the manner of a baldric, constituting a mark of a very high grade in an honorary order. Cf. Grand cordon.

2. The cord worn by a Franciscan friar. Sir E. Sandys.

3. The coping of the scarp wall, which projects beyong the face of the wall a few inches.

4. A line or series of sentinels, or of military posts, inclosing or guarding any place or thing.

5. A rich and ornamental lace or string, used to secure a mantle in some costumes of state. Cordon bleu (kd" bl Etym: [F., blue cordon], a first-rate cook, or one worthy to be the cook of the cordons bleus, or Knights of the Holy Ghost, famous for their good dinners. -- Cordon sanitaire (kd" s Etym: [F., sanitary cordon], a line of troops or military posts around a district infected with disease, to cut off communication, and thus prevent the disease from spreading.