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culottes

or cu·lotte

[koo-lots, kyoo-]
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plural noun
  1. women's trousers, usually knee-length or calf-length, cut full to resemble a skirt.
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Origin of culottes

1835–45; < French: literally, breeches, equivalent to cul rump + -ottes, plural of -otte, feminine of -ot noun suffix. See culet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for culottes

petticoat, dress, kilt, sarong, hoop, mini, dirndl, pannier, midi, culottes, tutu

Examples from the Web for culottes

Historical Examples of culottes

  • The following one was new to me as a name, not as a dish, which was simple enough, "Culottes de bœuf à la fermière."

    Punch, or the London Charivari. Volume 93, September 10, 1887

    Various

  • I cite the original Latin, as the word calig has been wrongly rendered by the French translator into culottes.

British Dictionary definitions for culottes

culottes

pl n
  1. women's flared trousers cut to look like a skirt
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Word Origin for culottes

C20: from French, literally: breeches, from cul bottom; see culet
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 culottes

n.

"a divided skirt," 1911, from French culotte "breeches" (16c.), a diminutive of cul "bottom, backside, backside, anus," from Latin culus "bottom, fundament." Earlier, in the singular cullote, it was used to mean "knee-breeches" (1842). Por le cul bieu "By God's arse" was an Old French oath.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper