kirtle

[kur-tl]

noun

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

2. Obsolete.,  a man's tunic.

kirtle

/ ˈkɜːtəl /

noun

1. a woman's skirt or dress

2. a man's coat

Other Word Forms

• kirtled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of kirtle¹

before 900; Middle English kirtel, Old English cyrtel, apparently equivalent to cyrt ( an ) to shorten (≪ Latin curtus shortened) + -el -le

Word History and Origins

Origin of kirtle¹

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

Example Sentences

I pulled out kirtles, caps, and bodices, the gilded prayer book and a cracked looking glass Gertrude had given me.

Read more on Literature

“No matter. They will horse Bore again in a minute. Here he is, coming to the Queen. Oh, look! He has brought her a kirtle and a gown.”

Read more on Literature

The six-piece ensemble — a silk underdress, a velvet drawstring bag and small purse mirror, a coronet, a kirtle and a mantle — will be the main attraction of an exhibit called “Encounters With Royalty.”

Read more on Washington Post

Herb gardens, honeysuckle and kirtles, but also ghostly suspense and fear foreshadowed.

Read more on The Guardian

Also she wears kirtles laced with silk and tiring pins of silver and silver gilt and has made all the nuns wear the like....

Read more on Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blouse 
• coat 
• jacket 
• robe