the.com/cordon
A polite word for 'do not cross,' guarded by people who hope you will not test it.
means A line of people, barriers, or guards that marks off an area and controls who gets in or out.
from From French 'cordon,' meaning a small cord or ribbon — itself from 'corde,' rope. The leap from decorative braid to military and police barrier makes sense once you picture ceremonial cords strung up to mark a boundary, or officers linking arms and equipment to form a human rope across a space. The same root gives us 'cord' and 'cordage' in English.
- origin
- French for ribbon or cord
- sanitaire
- a cordon meant to block disease, not people
- bleu
- same root, now means breaded and fried
- police use
- line implies authority, not just rope