pareu

American  

[pahr-ey-oo] / ˈpɑr eɪˌu /

noun

1. lavalava.

2. Also pareo a length of cloth, especially of a brightly colored print, wrapped on the body like a lavalava and worn by women as a cover-up, skirt, dress, or the like.

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pareu British  

/ ˈpɑːreɪˌuː /

noun

1. a rectangle of fabric worn by Polynesians as a skirt or loincloth

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Etymology

Origin of pareu

Borrowed into English from Tahitian around 1855–60

Example Sentences

Wearing a varihued. skirtlike Tahitian pareu that he fancies, Bragg spent a happy hour emitting Tarzan yells and swinging from branch to branch.

From Time Magazine Archive

Beneath it they wore a pareu, which passed twice around the waist and hung to the calves of the legs.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

She wore a blue pareu, and that was strange, for only old people, and few of them, wear any but the red or yellow loin-cloth.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

Lloyd’s costume, in which he looks remarkably well, consists of a striped flannel shirt and a pareu.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

Mr. Pottle's eyes fell on his own scarlet pareu and the brownish legs beneath it.

From The Sin of Monsieur Pettipon and other humorous tales by Connell, Richard