tunic

American  

[too-nik, tyoo-] / ˈtu nɪk, ˈtyu- /

noun

1. Chiefly British. a coat worn as part of a military or other uniform.

2. a gownlike outer garment, with or without sleeves and sometimes belted, worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

3. a woman's upper garment, either loose or close-fitting and extending over the skirt to the hips or below.

4. a garment with a short skirt, worn by women for sports.

5. Ecclesiastical. a tunicle.

6. Anatomy, Zoology. any covering or investing membrane or part, as of an organ.

7. Botany. an integument, as that covering a seed.

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tunic British  

/ ˈtjuːnɪk /

noun

1. 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

2. anatomy botany zoology a covering, lining, or enveloping membrane of an organ or part See also tunica

3. RC Church another word for tunicle

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Other Word Forms

• subtunic noun
• supertunic noun
• undertunic noun

Etymology

Origin of tunic

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

Example Sentences

In the shallows, two girls in buckskin tunics giggled as they rinsed the boar’s guts, while three small children solemnly made mud-cakes and studded them with sycamore wings.

From Literature

My eyes drifted to the woman, who wore a plain indigo tunic with knots, her graying hair drawn back in a tight bun.

From Literature

And on those horses were soldiers dressed in red-and-gold tunics, with spears and swords and bows and arrows.

From Literature

And I had to wear a tunic, which I put into “Garden State.”

From Los Angeles Times

Delpierre marvels at the thousands of garments, ranging from vests and tunics to dresses and leotards displayed in a large warehouse near Geneva.

From Barron's

Related Words

• blouse
• coat
• jacket
• robe