trousseau
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trousseau
1175–1225; < French; Middle French troussel, equivalent to trousse parcel, bundle (of straw, etc.), noun derivative of tro ( u ) sser to fasten ( see truss) + -el diminutive suffix ( see -elle)
Explanation
In olden days, a newly married bride would bring a trousseau, or a collection of clothing and linens, when she and her new husband moved in together. Traditionally, a young woman collected items for her trousseau for years before getting married, often with help from her parents. A newer, slightly less antiquated version of the trousseau is a hope chest, a wooden chest that is gradually filled in anticipation of a future marital home. The word trousseau is French, a diminutive form of trousse, "bundle."
Vocabulary lists containing trousseau
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Number the Stars
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In Cold Blood
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“The precious bits of cloth folded away in a small trunk like an abandoned trousseau, the books of my life, the medals in their cases.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025
The wine, as well as the rings, the perfume and the other elements were part of a funerary trousseau that was to accompany the deceased in their voyage into the afterlife.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2024
But the bride was allowed 100 extra ration coupons for her trousseau.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
The dowry was replaced with a marriage chest, also known as a trousseau or hope chest.
From Washington Post ● May 18, 2022
Oh, she monogrammed guest towels and crocheted collars for her trousseau and I don’t know what all.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
There, he and his son began collecting the hand-embroidered silk and cotton tapestries, traditionally made throughout Central Asia by brides and their mothers for trousseaus.
From New York Times ● Aug. 30, 2019
“They spent years on their trousseaus, and the emphasis was on finesse.”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 21, 2016
The London County Council revealed a gift from recent Visitor Marshal Tito: $2,800 to be spent on trousseaus for deserving London war orphans.
From Time Magazine Archive
"As head of the lingerie section I've selected trousseaus for I don't know how many Chicago brides; but I'll never have to decide whether I'll have pink or blue ribbons for my own."
From Cheerful—By Request by Ferber, Edna
In former times at grandpapa's every woman in the house, whether mistress or maid, had her wheel, and the young ladies were accustomed to spin and make up their own trousseaus.
From Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence by Agassiz, Louis
For one thing, fashion reporters were finally permitted to disclose the breathlessly awaited details of the royal trousseaux.
From Time Magazine Archive
At the orphanage Carolina learned to sew, made laces, embroideries, bridal trousseaux; she left the institution only for group walks, saw no movies, read only religious books.
From Time Magazine Archive
An energetic, dominating woman, handy with her needle, Mrs. Magnin began to make and sell fancy baby clothes, gradually branching into trousseaux.
From Time Magazine Archive
She is teaching me how to sew, and we are making pretty nightgowns and robes that she will sell to the families of new brides for their trousseaux.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Brides one read about had trousseaux, dozens of sets at a time, and I had never bothered.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
