redcap

  1. Noun.  (British) A member of the Royal Military Police a unit in the British army.
  2. Noun.  (US) A porter in a US railway station. [Etymology: On Labor Day, 1890, John Williams,http://books.google.com/books?ei=V1bcTpm-O-Lq0QHEte3fAw&ct=result&hl=ja&id=WHzVAAAAMAAJ&dq=redcap+%22john+williams%22+%22grand+central%22&q=%22labor+day+1890#search_anchor an African-American railway porter, tied a red ribbon to his black uniform cap to stand out from the crowd at Grand Central Terminal. The strategy was so successful that it was soon adopted by others in the profession, leading to the synecdochic use of redcap as a term for all railway porters.http://books.google.com/books?id=8RPgI6EhRvwC&pg=PA237&lpg=PA237&dq=labor+day+1890+redcap&source=bl&ots=J6v2CDobyh&sig=wBsckjrusteNyAs1WDPzM3czCD4&hl=ja&ei=wlbcTvySOYXx0gHJstAe&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false].
  3. Noun.  (British) Archaic name for the goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'').
  4. Noun.  (British, folklore) A type of evil goblin or imp.
  5. Noun.  A breed of poultry. See red cap.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.