kirtle

[ kur-tl ]

/ ˈkɜr tl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR kirtle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Obsolete. a man's tunic.

Nearby words

kirstein, kirstein, lincoln, kirsten, kirtan, kirtland's warbler, kirtle, kiruna, kirundi, kiruv, kisan, 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 forms

kir·tled, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for kirtle

He sheareth a deal from his kirtle meet, To make her sandals for her feet.
Poems by the Way|William Morris
Springing with a bound over the Kirtle, he seized Blacket House in the act of flight.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Vol. 9|Various
And I am weary withal, and this kirtle is light and easy to me.
The Roots of the Mountains|William Morris
A kirtle is a gown; Skeat suggests that it is a diminutive of skirt.
Milton's Comus|John Milton

A kirtle surrounds her waist, and falls with a feather fringe down to just above the knees.
Harper's Magazine, Vol III, June 1851|Various

British Dictionary definitions for kirtle

kirtle

/ (ˈkɜːtəl) /

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