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peignoir

[peyn-wahr, pen-, peyn-wahr, pen-]
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noun
  1. a woman's dressing gown.
  2. a cloak or gown of terry cloth for wear after swimming or, especially in France, after the bath.
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Origin of peignoir

1825–35; < French: literally, comber, i.e., something worn while one's hair is being combed, equivalent to peign(er) to comb (< Late Latin pectināre; see pecten) + -oir < Latin -ōrium -ory1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

frock, garment, bathrobe, vestment, costume, dress, kimono, smock, wrapper, wrap, robe, nightdress, camisole, dishabille, teddy, peignoir, nightie, mantle, habit, negligee

Examples from the Web for peignoir

Historical Examples

  • So I had to put on her peignoir, and tidy her up, and arrange her hair just as I have done.

    A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales

    Guy De Maupassant

  • Her peignoir of beige, embroidered with red silk, was evidently of Parisian manufacture.

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • Besides, the peignoir weighs nothing; a feather, a puff of vapour.

    Rita

    Laura E. Richards

  • Yes, but you will not care to go to the dining-room in your peignoir?

  • Ma'ame Plagie had been sitting beside the bed in her peignoir and slippers.

    Bayou Folk

    Kate Chopin

British Dictionary definitions for peignoir

peignoir

noun
  1. a woman's dressing gown or negligee
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Word Origin

C19: from French, from peigner to comb, since the garment was worn while the hair was combed
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 peignoir

n.

"lady's loose robe," 1835, from French peignoir, from Middle French peignouoir "garment worn over the shoulders while combing the hair" (16c.), from peigner "to comb the hair," from Latin pectinare, from pecten (genitive pectinis) "a comb," related to pectere "to comb" (see fight (v.)). A gown put on while coming from the bath; misapplied in English to a woman's morning gown.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper