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Webster 1913 Edition

Bodice

Bod′ice

,
Noun.
[This is properly the plural of
body
, Oe.
bodise
a pair of bodies, equiv. to a bodice. Cf.
Corset
, and see
Body
.]
1.
A kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone, etc., worn esp. by women; a corset; stays.
2.
A close-fitting outer waist or vest forming the upper part of a woman’s dress, or a portion of it.
Her
bodice
half way she unlaced.
Prior.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bodice

BOD'ICE

,
Noun.
Stays; a waistcoat, quilted with whalebone; worn by women.

Definition 2025

bodice

bodice

English

Noun

bodice ‎(plural bodices)

  1. (fashion) A sleeveless shirt for women, sometimes provided with detachable sleeves.
  2. (fashion) Blouse; any shirt for women, particularly the upper part of a two-piece dress or European folk costume.
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 1, in Crime out of Mind:
      On the cover of the leaflet advertising the Alpenrose Gasthof in Zirl am Gurgl […] there is a decorative picture of a young woman. She is wearing Tyrolese costume: the low-cut white bodice with cross-laced velvet waistcoat, the floral apron and dirndl skirt.
  3. (fashion) The upper portion of a women's one-piece dress, equivalent to a shirt.
  4. (fashion) Underbodice: an undershirt for women, (archaic) particularly a corset or other undershirt stiffened with whalebone.

Hyponyms

  • (sleeveless shirt for women): jelick (Ottoman Turkish version); dudou (Chinese version); yem (Chinese version in Vietnamese contexts); angiya (Indian Muslim version); jumps (obsolete European version)
  • (sleeved shirt for women): See blouse
  • (undershirt for women): See underbodice

Meronyms

  • (sleeveless shirt for women): plastron (decorated front area)
  • (upper part of a dress): robing (decorative trim)

Derived terms

Translations

sleeveless garment covering body from neck to waist
upper portion of one- or two-piece dress

Etymology

From bodies, plural of body ‎(“upper part of a dress”)

Pronunciation

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