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smallclothes

[smawl-klohz, -klohth z]
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plural noun
  1. British. small, personal items of clothing, as underwear, handkerchiefs, etc.
  2. knee breeches, especially the close-fitting ones worn in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries.
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Origin of smallclothes

First recorded in 1625–35; small + clothes
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

corset, lingerie, shorts, undergarment, underpants, undershirt, bikini, bra, drawers, panties, underclothing, briefs, underclothes, G-string, undies, skivvies, BVDs, loincloth, smallclothes, underthings

Examples from the Web for smallclothes

Historical Examples

  • No more will hoops and wigs add allure to the progress of beauty—nor peruke nor smallclothes invest the beau with grandeur.

    Seaport in Virginia

    Gay Montague Moore

  • It is now the mode to wear buckles on your smallclothes, that you may loosen or tighten them at pleasure.

    The Robbers

    Friedrich Schiller

British Dictionary definitions for smallclothes

smallclothes

pl n
  1. men's close-fitting knee breeches of the 18th and 19th centuries
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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