partlet

American  

[pahrt-lit] / ˈpɑrt lɪt /

noun

1. a garment for the neck and shoulders, usually ruffled and having a collar, worn in the 16th century.

---

partlet British  

/ ˈpɑːtlɪt /

noun

1. a woman's garment covering the neck and shoulders, worn esp during the 16th century

---

Etymology

Origin of partlet

1510–20; unexplained variant of late Middle English patelet < Middle French patelette strip of cloth, band, literally, little paw, equivalent to Old French pate paw + -lete -let

Example Sentences

Hence partlet, a hen, on account of the ruffled feathers, a term used alike by Chaucer and Shakespeare.

From Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature by Bardsley, Charles W.

The pinched partlet made a fine undergarment for the slashed doublet.

From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse

She wore raised cloth of gold, and round her thin throat was a partlet or collar of emeralds.

From House of Torment A Tale of the Remarkable Adventures of Mr. John Commendone, Gentleman to King Phillip II of Spain at the English Court by Gull, Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger

A partlet was an inner kerchief, worn with an open-necked bodice or doublet.

From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse

Then he goes on to say that a partlet may be goodness knows what else.

From English Costume by Calthrop, Dion Clayton