CHAPERONE

I. noun or chaperon Etymology: French chaperon, literally, hood, from Middle French, head covering, from chape Date: 1720 a person (as a matron) who for propriety accompanies one or more young unmarried women in public or in mixed company, an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior, any of a class of proteins that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins, II. verb or chaperon (-oned; -oning) Date: 1796 transitive verb escort , to act as ~ to or for , intransitive verb to act as a ~, chaperonage noun