décolleté

or de·colle·te

[dey-kol-tey, -kol-uh-, dek-uh-luh-; French dey-kawl-tey]

adjective

(of a garment) low-necked.

wearing a low-necked garment.

RELATED WORDS

Origin of décolleté

1825–35; < French: past participle of décolleter to bare the neck, equivalent to dé- de- + collet collar (see -et) + -er infinitive suffix

Can be confuseddécolletage décolleté dishabille

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

Examples from the Web for decollete

Historical Examples of decollete

Bella, who is decollete whenever it is allowable, and more than is proper!
When a Man Marries
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Some exceptions are decollete, fiancee and fiance, and other words which have been taken over into the language.
The Style Book of The Detroit News
The Detroit News
Her decollete waist allowed the brown skin to be perceived, and her flat feet were inclosed in moccasins.
The Son of Monte-Cristo, Volume I (of 2)
Alexandre Dumas pre

British Dictionary definitions for decollete

décolleté

adjective

(of a woman's garment) low-cut

wearing a low-cut garment

noun

a low-cut neckline

Word Origin for décolleté

C19: from French décolleter to cut out the neck (of a dress), from collet collar

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 decollete

adj.

1831, from French décolleté, past participle of décolleter "to bare the neck and shoulders," from de- (see de-) + collet "collar of a dress," diminutive of col (Latin collum) "neck" (see collar (n.)). Not to be confused with decollate, which means "to behead."