Chemisette
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An item of women's clothing, popular in the 1860s and 1870s, worn to fill in the front and neckline of any garment.
"[Of Italian peasants] And then their dress—the fine plaited chemisette close round the throat—the long gold ear-rings, those indispensables of their toilette—the black velvet boddice, showing the figure to such advantage, laced with gold and coloured silks—the full petticoat—the apron trimmed with gay ribands; all put on so neatly, and with such a fine taste for harmony of colouring."
Example
More examples"[Of Italian peasants] And then their dress—the fine plaited chemisette close round the throat—the long gold ear-rings, those indispensables of their toilette—the black velvet boddice, showing the figure to such advantage, laced with gold and coloured silks—the full petticoat—the apron trimmed with gay ribands; all put on so neatly, and with such a fine taste for harmony of colouring."
Etymology
Borrowed from French chemisette.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.