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kirtle

[kur-tl]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR kirtle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a woman's loose gown, worn in the Middle Ages.
Obsolete. a man's tunic.

RELATED WORDS

blouse, jacket, robe, coat, chiton, surcoat, toga

Nearby words

  1. kirstein,
  2. kirstein, lincoln,
  3. kirsten,
  4. kirtan,
  5. kirtland's warbler,
  6. kiruna,
  7. kirundi,
  8. kiruv,
  9. kisan,
  10. kisangani

Origin of kirtle

before 900; Middle English kirtel, Old English cyrtel, apparently equivalent to cyrt(an) to shorten (≪ Latin curtus shortened) + -el -le
Related formskir·tled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kirtle

British Dictionary definitions for kirtle

kirtle

noun archaic

a woman's skirt or dress
a man's coat

Word Origin for kirtle

Old English cyrtel, probably from cyrtan to shorten, ultimately from Latin curtus cut short
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 kirtle

kirtle

n.

"a man's tunic; a woman's skirt," Old English cyrtel, related to Old Norse kyrtill "tunic;" both regarded as probably from Latin curtus "short" (see curt) + diminutive suffix -el.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper