tunic

[too-nik, tyoo-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tunic ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

Origin of tunic

before 900; (< French tunique) < Latin tunica; perhaps also continuing Old English tunece, tunica < Latin

Related formssub·tu·nic, nounsu·per·tu·nic, nounun·der·tu·nic, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for tunic

blouse, jacket, robe, coat, chiton, surcoat, kirtle, toga

Examples from the Web for tunic

Historical Examples of tunic

His tunic was always worn out and patched, but his weapons were mounted in silver.
A Hero of Our Time
M. Y. Lermontov
The policeman drew from the pocket of his tunic a dirty note-book.
A Nest of Spies
Pierre Souvestre
Jorgenson, with his hands deep in the pockets of his tunic, listened, looking down.
The Rescue
Joseph Conrad
He did not attempt to go to sleep; he did not even unbutton the top button of his tunic.
Victory
Joseph Conrad
Bimba tells me that Tunic has disappeared no one knows whither.
The Pearl of the Antilles, or An Artist in Cuba
Walter Goodman

British Dictionary definitions for tunic

tunic

noun

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

Word Origin for tunic

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tunic

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).

tunic in Medicine

tunic

[tōō′nĭk]

n.

A coat or layer enveloping an organ or a part; tunica.