Definition

1. Noun:
   • A structural undergarment, typically a framework of hoops made from wood, whalebone, or metal, worn beneath a skirt to extend it horizontally and create a wide, bell-shaped silhouette. It was a fashionable item of women's dress in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The portrait of Queen Elizabeth I clearly shows the silhouette created by her farthingale.
  • Historical costumers often reconstruct a farthingale to achieve an authentic Renaissance look.
  • The farthingale fell out of fashion by the late 17th century.

Advanced Usage

• "To wear a farthingale": To be dressed in the fashion of the period that required this understructure.
  • Noblewomen at the Spanish court were expected to wear a farthingale.
• Descriptive Use: Used to describe the style or period characterized by this garment.
  • The farthingale era saw skirts reach their maximum width.

Variants and Related Words

• Spanish farthingale (n): An early, conical-shaped version of the garment.
• French farthingale or wheel farthingale (n): A later version, often a padded roll or a hoop that extended the skirt horizontally at the hips.
• Bum roll (n): A related, simpler padded cushion worn later to achieve a similar, though less extreme, silhouette.
• Crinoline (n): A 19th-century successor using hoops to create a full skirt, conceptually similar but distinct in period and shape.

Synonyms

• Hoop skirt: A general term for a skirt extended by hoops, though this more commonly refers to 19th-century styles.
• Foundation garment: A broader category of undergarments that shape the silhouette.

Related Idioms and Phrases

(This word is a specific historical term and is not commonly used in modern idioms or phrasal verbs.)

Noun

1. a hoop worn beneath a skirt to extend it horizontally; worn by European women in the 16th and 17th centuries