Word for Wednesday: Dress

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Our March Word for Wednesday theme is clothes. 

The word clothes comes from the Old English ‘claðas’ meaning ‘garments’. ‘Claðas’ is also the plural of ‘clað’ meaning ‘cloth’.

So far we’ve looked at the words shirt and trousers. Today’s word is dress. 

A dress is a one-piece garment made from an attached top and skirt. A skirt is a garment that hangs from the waist. 

The word dress dates to around 1600 and was originally used to refer to any type of clothing, but specifically clothing that was suitable for a particular rank or ceremony. It has been used to describe a one-piece garment with a skirt since the 1630s. 

Skirt has been used in English since the early-fourteenth century and comes from the Old Norse ‘shyrta’ meaning ‘shirt’. The link between shirt and skirt may come from the long shirts once worn by peasants. 
 


17 Mar 2021
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