farthingale

American  

[fahr-thing-geyl] / ˈfɑr ðɪŋˌgeɪl /

noun

1. a hoop skirt or framework for expanding a woman's skirt, worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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farthingale British  

/ ˈfɑːðɪŋˌɡeɪl /

noun

1. a hoop or framework worn under skirts, esp in the Elizabethan period, to shape and spread them

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Etymology

Origin of farthingale

1545–55; 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 -ade ¹; so called from rod used to extend skirt

Example Sentences

Farthingale still remembers him fondly too, telling interviewers: “We were soulmates.”

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2019

In fact, none of these questions is satisfactorily answered in the interview Farthingale gives for the forthcoming BBC film David Bowie: Finding Fame.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2019

How lovely to hear from Hermione Farthingale, the girl with the mousy hair and muse of David Bowie for his 1971 song Life on Mars.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2019

We learn that Farthingale later married an anthropologist and moved to Papua New Guinea; that now she teaches yoga and pilates in Bristol.

From The Guardian • Feb. 1, 2019

Farthingale pondered for a time, but shook his head.

From The Great House by Weyman, Stanley John