Tunic
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A garment worn over the torso, with or without sleeves, and of various lengths reaching from the hips to the ankles.
"As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once."
- 2 any of a variety of loose fitting cloaks extending to the hips or knees wordnet
- 3 Any covering, such as seed coat or the organ that covers a membrane.
"Select individual bulbs that are firm and have no noticeable blemishes on them. Don't worry about the papery covering or tunic. That may or may not be in place, […]"
- 4 an enveloping or covering membrane or layer of body tissue wordnet
- 5 Synonym of gymslip.
Example
More examples"Accordingly, he proceeded with Chloe to the spring, in the grotto of the Nymphs, and, having given her his tunic and scrip in charge, repaired to the water's edge to wash his hair and person."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French tunique, from Latin tunica, possibly from Semitic (compare Aramaic [script needed] (kittuna), Hebrew כותנת (kuttoneth, “coat”), English chiton); or from Etruscan. Existed in Old English as tunece; unknown if that term was lost and then reborrowed later. Doublet of tunica.
Related phrases
More for "tunic"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.