corselet

American  

[kawr-suh-let, kawrs-lit] / ˌkɔr səˈlɛt, ˈkɔrs lɪt /

noun

1. Also corselette a woman's lightweight foundation garment combining a brassiere and girdle in one piece.

2. Armor. Also corslet

   1. a suit of light half armor or three-quarter armor of the 16th century or later.

   2. cuirass.

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corselet British  

/ ˈkɔːslɪt /

noun

1. Also spelt: corslet.  a piece of armour for the top part of the body

2. a one-piece foundation garment, usually combining a brassiere and a corset

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Etymology

Origin of corselet

1490–1500; < Middle French, equivalent to cors “bodice, body” + -elet -let

Example Sentences

Famed Choreographer Agnes de Mille, who danced the part first in 1938, turned up as Venus in droopy net stockings, ruffled corselet and a blonde wig suggesting Gorgeous George playing Lady Godiva.

From Time Magazine Archive

This linen corselet was found also among the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

From Great Inventions and Discoveries by Piercy, Willis Duff

His trousers, after exhausting the ordinary number of buttons in front, prolonged themselves into a kind of corselet that drew attention to the slimness of his waist.

From The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett by MacKenzie, Compton

He is standing by a broken column, and is dressed in yellow silk and brown velvet, a corselet, a lace cravat, and a red scarf.

From The Standard Galleries - Holland by Singleton, Esther

The armor was correct from helm to sollerets, with hauberk and corselet, greaves and jambards, while the gauntleted hands were crossed, in true warrior fashion, on the hilt of a long, straight sword.

From The House 'Round the Corner by Tracy, Louis

Related Words

• bodice
• underwear