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The tie was initially a piece of material worn by Roman legionnaires around the neck to keep out dust or dirt during long marches and was called a "focale." This "focale" however more resembled a modern day bandana worn around the neck than a neck tie. 

Many centuries later the French wore this "handkerchief", borrowing this fashion trend from Croatian mercenaries during the Twenty Years War. In his book, La Grande Histoire de la Cravate (Flamarion, Paris, 1994), François Chaille writes:

"... Around the year 1635, some six thousand soldiers and knights came to Paris to give their support to King Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu. Among them were a great number of Croatian mercenaries led by a ban, or Croatian viceroy.

These Croats wore unusual scarves around their necks, some made of course material, and some for officers made from fine silk. This Croatian necktie, previously unknown in Western Europe was immediately adopted by the French and given the name cravate.

During the 1800's and 1900's, the modern day neck tie evolved and as the cravat, worn more like a scarf, was narrowed, had its ends lengthened and was allowed to hang down the front.

Names for the necktie in the world:

Croatian: Kravata
English: Cravat
Polish: Krawat
Portugese: Gravata
Spanish: Corvatta
French: Cravate
German: Krawatte
Hungarian: Kravat
Italian: Cravatta

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