LTR: short crocheted cape; Batman's long, hooded cape; a long, thick Inverness cape.
FromFrenchcape, fromOld Occitancapa, fromLate Latincappa(“cape”). The second sense ("superhero") is metonymic from the fact that many superheroes wear capes. Likewise, the verb sense "defend, praise" alludes to the stereotypical depiction ofsuperheroes wearing capes when they come to people's defense. (Comparecaped crusader.)Doublet ofcapa andcappa.
Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […] Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had littlecapes or coats or feather boas.
2017, April Daniels,Dreadnought: Nemesis - Book One, Diversion Books,→ISBN:
Rows and rows of booths and pavilions stretch across the floor, draped with glowing holograms and shifting signs beckoningcapes to try their wares. Bystander insurance. Hypertech components. Mystical ingredients. Training DVDs ...
Some authors distinguishcapes fromcloaks, especially by sayingcapes are shorter or sometimes thatcloaks have hoods (cowls) or are of thicker material for dealing with cold or wet weather, but the terms are generally interchanged. For example, the traditionalInverness cape is thick for inclement weather and reaches to the calf, James Robinson Planché's 1879Cyclopaedia of Costume or Dictionary of Dress includes somecapes with hoods, andBatman'scape has acowl today and, likeDracula's andSuperman'scapes, typically reaches to the calf if not to the ground.
(US,slang, chiefly with "for") Todefend orpraise, especially that which is unworthy.
2016, Ken Makin, “Clinton-Trump debacle underscores gross misunderstanding of politics”, inUrban Pro Weekly, 6 October - 12 October 2016,page 5:
A lot of African-Americans believe the answer is Clinton, mostly because "she's not Trump" and because President Barack Obama is shamelesslycaping for her.
2017, Laila Nur, quoted in Jordan Green, "Far-right groups converge behind anti-sharia message in Raleigh",Triad City Beat, 14 June - 20 June 2017,page 9:
Many times, you see white supremacist groupscaping for women to mask their agenda of white nationalism.
2017, Mindy Isser [organizer], quoted by Aubrey Whelan [journalist] in "For Philly's socialists, election wins signal momentum",The Philadelphia Inquirer, 15 November 2017:
"I can't believe I'm out herecaping for a politician."
2019 April 3, Julian Lutz, “Elizabeth Warren has authenticity”, inThe Hawk, Saint Joseph's University,page 8:
[…] Biden is the old man who oncecaped for systematic racism;[…]
He shook her gently, combing his fingers through her coppery curls thatcaped her shoulders like filigree.
1995, Jim Schutze,By Two and Two: The Scandalous Story of Twin Sisters Accused of a Shocking Crime of Passion, New York, N.Y.:William Morrow and Company, Inc.,→ISBN, page62:
Hecaped the children and draped them in long wraps, wigs, and swords, and then they all went off down the hall, around the house, and into the yard, Jack singing in his high little voice, “Let’s go off adventuring, adventuring, adventuring!”
"cape", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’sGlossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
.jpg)
