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layette

[ley-et]
noun
  1. an outfit of clothing, bedding, etc., for a newborn baby.
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Origin of layette

1830–40; < French; Middle French laiete small coffer, equivalent to laie chest (< Middle Dutch laeye, variant of lade; akin to lade) + -ete -ette
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for layette

Historical Examples

  • They are born the owners of a layette which becomes the groundwork of their trousseau.

    The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles

    Jean Henri Fabre

  • We came here because the mother said she got a layette at madame's studio.

    Paris Vistas

    Helen Davenport Gibbons

  • A date was approaching, and there was the layette to be prepared.

  • The layette and the little bed are in our room all ready for the coining of our treasure.

    Letters of a Javanese Princess

    Raden Adjeng Kartini

  • Mrs. Barsaloux, relenting, had sent a layette of French workmanship, and Marna was radiantly happy.

    The Precipice

    Elia Wilkinson Peattie

British Dictionary definitions for layette

layette

noun
  1. a complete set of articles, including clothing, bedclothes, and other accessories, for a newborn baby
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Word Origin

C19: from French, from Old French, from laie, from Middle Dutch laege box
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 layette

n.

"baby's outfit," 1839, from French layette, properly the box in which it comes, subsequently transferred to the linen, from Middle French layette "chest of drawers," from laie "drawer, box," from Middle Dutch laeye, related to lade, load (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper