tunic
[too-nik, tyoo-]
- Chiefly British. a coat worn as part of a military or other uniform.
- a gownlike outer garment, with or without sleeves and sometimes belted, worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
- a woman's upper garment, either loose or close-fitting and extending over the skirt to the hips or below.
- a garment with a short skirt, worn by women for sports.
- Ecclesiastical. a tunicle.
- Anatomy, Zoology. any covering or investing membrane or part, as of an organ.
- Botany. an integument, as that covering a seed.
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Origin of tunic
before 900; (< French tunique) < Latin tunica; perhaps also continuing Old English tunece, tunica < Latin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tunic
Historical Examples
His tunic was always worn out and patched, but his weapons were mounted in silver.
A Hero of Our TimeM. Y. Lermontov
The policeman drew from the pocket of his tunic a dirty note-book.
A Nest of SpiesPierre Souvestre
Jorgenson, with his hands deep in the pockets of his tunic, listened, looking down.
The RescueJoseph Conrad
He did not attempt to go to sleep; he did not even unbutton the top button of his tunic.
VictoryJoseph Conrad
How shall I describe the agony which Tunic's narrative caused me!
The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in CubaWalter Goodman
tunic
- any of various hip-length or knee-length garments, such as the loose sleeveless garb worn in ancient Greece or Rome, the jacket of some soldiers, or a woman's hip-length garment, worn with a skirt or trousers
- anatomy botany zoology a covering, lining, or enveloping membrane of an organ or partSee also tunica
- mainly RC Church another word for tunicle
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Word Origin
Old English tunice (unattested except in the accusative case), from Latin tunica
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for tunic
n.
c.1600, from Middle French tunique, from Latin tunica (cf. Spanish tunica, Italian tonica, Old English tunece, Old High German tunihha), probably from a Semitic source (cf. Hebrew kuttoneth "coat," Aramaic kittuna).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
tunic
(tōō′nĭk)- A coat or layer enveloping an organ or a part; tunica.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.