A cockade is type of hat worn by revolutionaries and proponents of various political factions in France and its colonies beginning in 1789. Distinctive colours and styles of cockade would indicate the wearer's faction --although the meanings of the various styles were not entirely consistent, and varied somewhat by region and period.
Today, the term is often used to indicate the tricolour cockade in specific, which became a relatively common symbol of nationalism during the French Revolutionary Wars.
