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décolleté

or de·colle·te

[dey-kol-tey, -kol-uh-, dek-uh-luh-; French dey-kawl-tey]
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adjective
  1. (of a garment) low-necked.
  2. wearing a low-necked garment.

Origin of décolleté

1825–35; < French: past participle of décolleter to bare the neck, equivalent to dé- de- + collet collar (see -et) + -er infinitive suffix
Can be confuseddécolletage décolleté dishabille
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for decollete

Historical Examples

  • Bella, who is decollete whenever it is allowable, and more than is proper!

    When a Man Marries

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • Some exceptions are decollete, fiancee and fiance, and other words which have been taken over into the language.

  • Her decollete waist allowed the brown skin to be perceived, and her flat feet were inclosed in moccasins.

British Dictionary definitions for decollete

décolleté

adjective
  1. (of a woman's garment) low-cut
  2. wearing a low-cut garment
noun
  1. a low-cut neckline

Word Origin

C19: from French décolleter to cut out the neck (of a dress), from collet collar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for decollete

adj.

1831, from French décolleté, past participle of décolleter "to bare the neck and shoulders," from de- (see de-) + collet "collar of a dress," diminutive of col (Latin collum) "neck" (see collar (n.)). Not to be confused with decollate, which means "to behead."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper