a short wide piece of silk, etc. worn by men around the neck, folded inside the collar of a shirt Topics Clothes and Fashionc2(男用)阔领带 Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French cravate, from Cravate ‘Croat’ (from German Krabat, from Serbo-Croat Hrvat), because of the scarf worn by Croatian mercenaries in France.