farthingale
[ fahr-thing-geyl ]
noun
a hoop skirt or framework for expanding a woman's skirt, worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Origin of farthingale
11545–55; earlier verdynggale<Middle French verdugale, alteration of Old Spanish verdugado, equivalent to verdug(o) tree-shoot, rod (verd(e) green (<Latin viridis) + -ugo noun suffix) + -ado-ade1; so called from rod used to extend skirt
Words Nearby farthingale
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use farthingale in a sentence
Mistress Dorothy farthingale is seated in the middle of the stage, reading a letter and occasionally sighing.
Happy Days | Alan Alexander MilneThe scene is an apartment in the mansion of Sir Thomas farthingale.
Happy Days | Alan Alexander Milne
British Dictionary definitions for farthingale
farthingale
/ (ˈfɑːðɪŋˌɡeɪl) /
noun
a hoop or framework worn under skirts, esp in the Elizabethan period, to shape and spread them
Origin of farthingale
1C16: from French verdugale, from Old Spanish verdugado, from verdugo rod
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
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