corsage

[kawr-sahzh]

noun

1. a small bouquet worn at the waist, on the shoulder, on the wrist, etc., by a woman.

2. the body or waist of a dress; bodice.

corsage

/ kɔːˈsɑːʒ /

noun

1. a flower or small bunch of flowers worn pinned to the lapel, bosom, etc, or sometimes carried by women

2. the bodice of a dress

Word History and Origins

Origin of corsage¹

1475–85; < Middle French: bodily shape (later: bust, bodice, corsage), equivalent to cors body (< Latin corpus ) + -age -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of corsage¹

C15: from Old French, from cors body, from Latin corpus

Example Sentences

A white rose rests on her wrist, held by a corsage of diamonds and other gemstones.

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The stolen items included sapphire and emerald sets once worn by Napoleon’s wives and Empress Eugénie’s diamond corsage brooch.

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On her shoulder was a corsage of two white orchids sent by her father from the ship’s florist.

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Adding ribbons in school colors became popular after World War II, she said, when the corsage became an extension of school spirit.

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She asked jurors if they’d be able to remember the color of their prom corsages or who was class president their junior year, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

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Related Words

• garland 
• pot 
• vase 
• wreath