chemise

American  

[shuh-meez] / ʃəˈmiz /

noun

1. a woman's loose-fitting, shirtlike undergarment.

2. (in women's fashions) a dress designed to hang straight from the shoulders and fit loosely at the waist, sometimes more tightly at the hip.

3. a revetment for an earth embankment.

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chemise British  

/ ʃəˈmiːz /

noun

1. an unwaisted loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders

2. a loose shirtlike undergarment

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Etymology

Origin of chemise

before 1050; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French: shirt < Late Latin camīsa linen undergarment, shirt; replacing Middle English kemes, Old English cemes < Late Latin camīsa

Explanation

A chemise is a simple, loose-fitting dress. If you're heading to the beach, you might throw a chemise on over your bathing suit. Use the word chemise for an unstructured garment without any defined waist — think of the dresses flappers wore in the 1920s, which hung straight down from their shoulders. It's just as common to call a nightgown or a slip — a type of undergarment worn beneath a dress — a chemise. The word comes from Old French, meaning "tunic," and was originally used for the tunics worn by soldiers beneath their armor.

Example Sentences

A 36-year-old Algiers native, with a prodigious beard and an ankle-length orange chemise covering his giant build, Omar was well acquainted with the discrepancy between his country’s size and its reputation.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2022

She appears wearing a simple tan chemise and a Miu Miu patterned fur hat, holding a purple and green purse.

From New York Times • Aug. 9, 2017

A man’s shirt, une chemise, is feminine, but a woman’s shirt, un chemisier, is masculine.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 1, 2016

Reading her, I felt, at times, like a shallow brute because I don’t personally find tremendous meaning in a Michael Kors chemise.

From Slate • Sep. 11, 2014

Next I pulled on a cotton chemise with pretty white ribbons, thankful for its lack of sleeves.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan