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trousseau

[troo-soh, troo-soh]
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noun, plural trous·seaux [troo-sohz, troo-sohz] /ˈtru soʊz, truˈsoʊz/, trous·seaus.
  1. an outfit of clothing, household linen, etc., for a bride.
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Origin of trousseau

1175–1225; < French; Middle French troussel, equivalent to trousse parcel, bundle (of straw, etc.), noun derivative oftro(u)sser to fasten (see truss) + -el diminutive suffix (see -elle)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

appareldressertrunkclosetattirecupboardcommodelockerbuffetragschestbureauthreadsdudsclothingchiffonierensemblestrousseautogs

Examples from the Web for trousseau

Historical Examples

  • It was said that twenty working-girls were engaged day and night upon the trousseau.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • So Linda realized that Mary Louise had been told about the trousseau.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • Such expenditure, when you have just been preaching economy on my trousseau!

    The Innocent Adventuress

    Mary Hastings Bradley

  • They consulted a long time over the trousseau that should be given to her.

  • "But we will not discuss my trousseau just yet," she observed, blushing.

British Dictionary definitions for trousseau

trousseau

noun plural -seaux or -seaus (-səʊz)
  1. the clothes, linen, etc, collected by a bride for her marriage
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Word Origin

C19: from Old French, literally: a little bundle, from trusse a bundle; see truss
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 trousseau

n.

1817, from French trousseau, originally "a bundle," diminutive of Old French trousse "bundle" (see truss). Italicized as foreign at first, nativized by 1833. The Old French form was borrowed into Middle English early 13c., but it fell from use.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper