orner — DECORATE

[ohr-NEH] (v.) There's an Ethiopian tale about a fox who lost his tail in a trap.

At first, his shame keeps him from visiting fellow foxes but soon he comes up with a plan: he convenes all the area foxes and proposes that they all rid themselves of the "burdensome" appendage. "It's easier for dogs to catch us with these tails and they're in the way when we want to sit down," points out the fox. "That is all very well," responds one of the older foxes, "but I do not think you would have us dispense of our chief ornament if you had not lost it yourself."

The word ornament comes from the French verb orner which means to decorate and that's obviously not all a fox tail does.