crinoline

[ krin-l-in ]

/ ˈkrɪn l ɪn /

noun

a petticoat of haircloth or other stiff material, worn under a full skirt to keep it belled out.

a stiff, coarse cotton material for interlining.

a hoop skirt.

a reinforcement of iron straps for holding together brickwork, as of a furnace or chimney.

Nearby words

crinkleroot, crinkly, crinkum-crankum, crinogenic, crinoid, crinoline, crinoline stretcher, crinophagy, crinose, crinosity, crinum

Origin of crinoline

1820–30; < French < Italian crinolino, equivalent to crino horse-hair (≪ Latin crīnis hair) + lino flax < Latin līnum; cf. linen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for crinoline

This practice of singing before death has, like the crinoline, quite gone out of fashion.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar
Of Shakespeare it may be said he was the first to see the dramatic value of doublets, and that a climax may depend on a crinoline.
Intentions|Oscar Wilde
One thing about her dress most in contrast with that of the other servants was that she evidently wore no crinoline.
Household Papers and Stories|Harriet Beecher Stowe
The gun is usually carried slung until required for use, in order that the hands may be free to manage the crinoline.
Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life, Travel & Exploration|W. B. Lord

I am not opposed to crinoline, to trails, to diamonds, nor to rubies.
The Catholic World, Vol. X, October 1869|Various

British Dictionary definitions for crinoline

crinoline

/ (ˈkrɪnəlɪn) /

noun

a stiff fabric, originally of horsehair and linen used in lining garments

a petticoat stiffened with this, worn to distend skirts, esp in the mid-19th century

a framework of steel hoops worn for the same purpose

Word Origin for crinoline

C19: from French, from Italian crinolino, from crino horsehair, from Latin crīnis hair + lino flax, from Latin līnum

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 crinoline

crinoline

1830, from French crinoline "hair cloth" (19c.), from Italian crinolino, from crino "horsehair" (from Latin crinis "hair") + lino "flax, thread," from Latin linum (see linen). So called from the warp and woof fibers of the original mixture.