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modiste

[moh-deest; French maw-deest]
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noun, plural mo·distes [moh-deests; French maw-deest] /moʊˈdists; French mɔˈdist/.
  1. Older Use. a female maker of or dealer in women's fashionable attire.
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Origin of modiste

From French, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at mode2, -ist
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for modiste

Historical Examples

  • The modiste and the grisette are, doubtless, well read in the mysteries of.

    Nuts and Nutcrackers

    Charles James Lever

  • There had been no dressmaking, no consulting of milliner or modiste.

  • They find the modiste, who inspects her new customers and is all suavity.

    Floyd Grandon's Honor

    Amanda Minnie Douglas

  • I had no desire to run away from a partner who danced so well, though she were a modiste.

    The War Trail

    Mayne Reid

  • "It was a letter for the modiste," she replied with assumed indignation.

British Dictionary definitions for modiste

modiste

noun
  1. a fashionable dressmaker or milliner
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Word Origin

C19: from French, from mode fashion
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