Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Capuchin \Cap`u*chin"\, n. [F. capucin a monk who wears a cowl,
   fr. It. cappuccio hood. See {Capoch}.]
   1. (Eccl.) A Franciscan monk of the austere branch
      established in 1526 by Matteo di Baschi, distinguished by
      wearing the long pointed cowl or capoch of St. Francis.

            A bare-footed and long-bearded capuchin. --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.

   2. A garment for women, consisting of a cloak and hood,
      resembling, or supposed to resemble, that of capuchin
      monks.

   3. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) A long-tailed South American monkey ({Cabus
          capucinus}), having the forehead naked and wrinkled,
          with the hair on the crown reflexed and resembling a
          monk's cowl, the rest being of a grayish white; --
          called also {capucine monkey}, {weeper}, {sajou},
          {sapajou}, and {sai}.
      (b) Other species of {Cabus}, as {C. fatuellus} (the brown
          or {horned capucine}.), {C. albifrons} (the
          {cararara}), and {C. apella}.
      (c) A variety of the domestic pigeon having a hoodlike
          tuft of feathers on the head and sides of the neck.

   {Capuchin nun}, one of an austere order of Franciscan nuns
      which came under Capuchin rule in 1538. The order had
      recently been founded by Maria Longa.