peplos

American  

[pep-luhs] / ˈpɛp ləs /

Or peplus

noun

plural

peploses

1. a loose-fitting outer garment worn, draped in folds, by women in ancient Greece.

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peplos British  

/ ˈpɛpləs /

noun

1. Also called: peplum.  (in ancient Greece) the top part of a woman's attire, caught at the shoulders and hanging in folds to the waist

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Other Word Forms

• peplosed adjective

Etymology

Origin of peplos

First recorded in 1770–80, peplos is from the Greek word péplos (masculine)

Example Sentences

This year, Chiuri printed the peplos with the title of a crucial work of social criticism—Bernard Rudofsky’s “Are Clothes Modern?”—in a typeface inspired by the cloth cover of its first edition, from 1947.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 11, 2019

The artistic director at Christian Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri, opened her couture show with a simple white dress resembling the peplos of classical Greece: a rectangle of cloth draped to make a flowing column.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 11, 2019

A solemn sacrifice, equestrian and gymnastic contests, and the Pyrrhic dance, were all included in the ceremonial; but its principal feature was the offering of a new robe, peplos, to the Goddess on her birthday.

From A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2) by Smith, A. H.

On the left is Athen�, having long chiton, peplos, helmet, aegis, spear.

From A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2) by Smith, A. H.

A woman is seated on the couch, and raises with the left hand a fold of her peplos.

From A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2) by Smith, A. H.