The Cadogan Braid

[celelu]

My DBF, who's a eighteenth-century freak, always wears his APL hair in a low ponytail, held by a black silk ribbon he calls, in french, Catogan. There's an article on the french Wikipedia that seems to make order in the ideas that were brought here, let's see if I can translate it properly:

Le catogan est un noeud utilisé pour attacher les cheveux en une coiffure ramassée sur la nuque. Par extension, il désigne une coiffure où les cheveux sont attachés et ramassés sur la nuque. Le mot fut créé au xviiie siècle, à partir de Cadhogan, nom du général et comte anglais qui mit cette coiffure à la mode.
Au xviiie siècle, en Europe, le catogan semble avoir la forme d'une queue de cheval basse, très courante chez les soldats, les domestiques...
En Asie, très porté et ses sens sont très divers.
Actuellement, le mot catogan est plutôt utilisé pour désigner une sorte de large chignon bas.

The Catogan in a knot used to tie hair into an updo brought togheter on the nape. By extension, it can refer to that updo. The word was created in the eighteenth century, from Cadhogan, name of the English general and count that brought this hair setting into fashion.
In the eighteenth century, in Europe, the catogan seems to have the shape of a low ponytail, very common among soldiers, servants...
Nowadays, the word catogan refers mostly to a kind of wide low bun.

HTH!

[celelu]

Oops I forgot a line! It says: In Asia, very common and its meanings are various. (It doesn't make much sense in French neither, actually...)
So what I suppose about the catogan braid, and what I saw on historical reconstitution weekends, is men who braid their (APL to BSL) hair and tie it with a catogan in a bow. I don't think adult women would wear their hair in a braid out of home at that time, rather in a coiffe or a more elaborate updo.

[skay]

Thanks, everyone for their contributions and chiming in to help solve this puzzle.

Wow, it's great to get answers from people from different parts of the world!

Oh no! I wrote a long reply about catogan and cadogan and cadogan teapots and now it's lost. I think the French explanation is best - a simple corruption turned it from catogan to cadogan. And a lady would have avoided loose hair, hence it became a braid.

After reading everyone's response, I believe Kuchen's response above gives a simple summary and resolution.

To further elaborate:

Emily, the character in the book, said it was a braid from "those days", so it may have very well been the case she modified the "Cadogan" to have a braid so as to be appropriate for that time, region and gender; and then folded it up multiple times (or as the author says "clubbed it").

My DBF, who's a eighteenth-century freak, always wears his APL hair in a low ponytail, held by a black silk ribbon he calls, in french, Catogan. There's an article on the french Wikipedia that seems to make order in the ideas that were brought here, let's see if I can translate it properly:

Le catogan est un noeud utilisé pour attacher les cheveux en une coiffure ramassée sur la nuque. Par extension, il désigne une coiffure où les cheveux sont attachés et ramassés sur la nuque. Le mot fut créé au xviiie siècle, à partir de Cadhogan, nom du général et comte anglais qui mit cette coiffure à la mode.
Au xviiie siècle, en Europe, le catogan semble avoir la forme d'une queue de cheval basse, très courante chez les soldats, les domestiques...
En Asie, très porté et ses sens sont très divers.
Actuellement, le mot catogan est plutôt utilisé pour désigner une sorte de large chignon bas.

The Catogan in a knot used to tie hair into an updo brought togheter on the nape. By extension, it can refer to that updo. The word was created in the eighteenth century, from Cadhogan, name of the English general and count that brought this hair setting into fashion.
In the eighteenth century, in Europe, the catogan seems to have the shape of a low ponytail, very common among soldiers, servants...
Nowadays, the word catogan refers mostly to a kind of wide low bun.

HTH!

Thanks for the translation celelu. It was helpful to see the historical background as well as how the word is used today -- in order to understand what the author in the book may have meant.

By the way, that's cool your DBF wears a black satin ribbon around a low ponytail. I admire a guy who can pull that off!

Someone needs to tell Jessica Simpson about this ... I think she believes she "invented" hair extensions!

LOL. Right?!

The Cadogan Hotel was where Oscar Wilde was arrested...

"Mr Wilde we have come for to take you
Where thieves and criminals dwell
We must ask you to come quietly
For this is the Cadogan Hotel"
John Betjamin

Nice quote! The historical article was an interesting read, too.

Thank you to everyone!

Skay

Regarding pigtails, ponytails, braids, etc. terminology, check out these Archived Posts/Polls:

The Pigtail Poll

PIGtails? PONYtails?!

How do you call that?