Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Cordelier \Cor`de*lier"\ (k?r`d??l?r"), n. [F., fr. OF. cordel,
   F. cordeau, dim. fr. corde string, rope. See {Cord}.]
   1. (Eccl. Hist.) A Franciscan; -- so called in France from
      the girdle of knotted cord worn by all Franciscans.

   2. (Fr. Hist.) A member of a French political club of the
      time of the first Revolution, of which Danton and Marat
      were members, and which met in an old Cordelier convent in
      Paris.