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.

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partlet British  

/ ˈpɑːtlɪt /

noun

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

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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

He heard his name and looked back; had he first recognized the kindly voice he would not have turned, but fled, like a partlet at sight of the hawk, from Parson Tombs.

From John March, Southerner by Cable, George W.

“There’s your new partlet, and Pen’s Sunday gown.”

From All's Well Alice's Victory by Lewin, M.

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

From English Costume by Calthrop, Dion Clayton

Another quaint term, already obsolete when the Mayflower sailed, was partlet.

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

An old dictionary explains that the partlet can be "set on or taken off by itself without taking off the bodice, as can be pickadillies now-a-days, or men's bands."

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