chemise

[shuh-meez] /ʃəˈmiz/
noun
1.
a woman's loose-fitting, shirtlike undergarment.
2.
(in women's fashions) a dress designed to hang straight from the shoulders and fit loosely at the waist, sometimes more tightly at the hip.
3.
a revetment for an earth embankment.
Origin
before 1050; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French: shirt < Late Latin camīsa linen undergarment, shirt; replacing Middle English kemes, Old English cemes < Late Latin camīsa
Examples from the web for chemise
  • The lands in this area are susceptible to wildland fires and are characterized by chaparral and chemise vegetation ecosystem.
  • Clad in a loose chemise and seated before a washstand and mirror, she performs the routine task of coiling her hair.
  • Underneath, she wears a dainty lingerie set made up of tap pants and a strapless chemise with garters and stockings.
British Dictionary definitions for chemise

chemise

/ʃəˈmiːz/
noun
1.
an unwaisted loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders
2.
a loose shirtlike undergarment
Also called shift
Word Origin
C14: from Old French: shirt, from Late Latin camisa, perhaps of Celtic origin
Word Origin and History for chemise
n.

late Old English, cemes "shirt," from Old French chemise "shirt, undertunic, shift," or directly from Late Latin camisia "shirt, tunic" (Jerome; also source of Italian camicia, Spanish camisa); originally a soldier's word, probably via Gaulish, from Proto-Germanic *khamithjan (cf. Old Frisian hemethe, Old Saxon hemithi, Old English hemeðe, German hemd "shirt"), from PIE root *kem- "to cover, cloak" (cf. heaven). The French form took over after c.1200. Related: Chemisette.

Encyclopedia Article for chemise

loose, shirtlike garment worn by women in the European Middle Ages under their gowns (also called a chemise). The smock later became a loose, yoked, shirtlike outer garment of coarse linen, used to protect the clothes; it was worn, for example, by fieldworkers in Europe.

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