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definitions

chic

[ sheek ]
/ ʃik /
||

adjective, chic·er, chic·est.

attractive and fashionable; stylish: a chic hat.

noun

style and elegance, especially in dress: Paris clothes have such chic.
stylishness; modishness: the chic of the firstnighters.
casual and understated style, as in dress or décor, that expresses a specified trendy lifestyle or activity: Black-rimmed glasses bring some geek chic to your outfit.

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Nearby words

  1. chibcha,
  2. chibchan,
  3. chibol,
  4. chibougamau,
  5. chibouk,
  6. chic sale,
  7. chica,
  8. chicago,
  9. chicago board of trade,
  10. chicago fire

Origin of chic

1855–60; < French < German Schick skill
SYNONYMS FOR chic
1. smart, elegant, modish.
Related formschic·ly, adverbchic·ness, nounsu·per·chic, adjectiveul·tra·chic, adjective
Can be confusedchic chick

Pronunciation note

The spelling pronunciation [chik] /tʃɪk/ is considered nonstandard except when used facetiously.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ultra-chic

  • But, hey, a romantic comedy starring an ultra-chic web editor should be here any day now.

    Death of a Hollywood Cliché|Willa Paskin|February 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST

  • Before March brings the Auteuil races, Paris is, in the eyes of the ultra-chic, a wilderness.

    In Vanity Fair|Eleanor Hoyt Brainerd
British Dictionary definitions for ultra-chic

chic

/ (ʃiːk, ʃɪk) /

adjective

(esp of fashionable clothes, women, etc) stylish or elegant

noun

stylishness, esp in dress; modishness; fashionable good taste
any of various fashion movements based on a particular lifestyleradical chic; geek chic
Derived Formschicly, adverb

Word Origin for chic

C19: from French, of uncertain origin
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 ultra-chic

chic

1856, as a noun, "style, artistic skill," from French chic, 19c. in "stylishness" sense, originally "subtlety" (16c.), of unknown origin, perhaps [Klein] related to German Schick "tact, skill," from Middle Low German schikken "arrange appropriately," or Middle High German schicken "to arrange, set in order;" or from French chicane, from chicanerie (see chicanery). The adjectival meaning "stylish" is from 1879 in English, "Not so used in F[rench]." [OED].

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper