petticoat
/'petikout/
Definition
Noun: 1. A garment, typically a skirt, worn under a dress or outer skirt. It is an undergarment, historically worn by women and girls to add fullness, shape, or warmth to a skirt or dress, or to prevent the outer garment from being transparent. 2. (Archaic or informal) A term for women or girls collectively, or symbolizing female influence. This usage is often found in historical or idiomatic contexts and can carry connotations of domestic or private female authority.
Examples
Noun (garment):
- She wore a lace-trimmed petticoat under her wedding gown to give it more volume.
- In the 1950s, full petticoats were essential for creating the fashionable silhouette.
- The thin dress was see-through, so she needed a petticoat.
Noun (symbolic):
- (Historical) The novel explores the politics of the petticoat in 18th-century court life.
- (Idiomatic, archaic) He was accused of being under petticoat government, ruled by his wife and mother.
Advanced Usage
- "in petticoats": An archaic phrase meaning "in childhood," specifically referring to the time when a young boy wore dresses or skirted garments.
- I've known the general since he was in petticoats.
- "petticoat government": An idiom, now dated and often pejorative, referring to a situation where women are perceived to hold the dominant authority, especially in a domestic or private sphere.
- The satirical article mocked the household as a petticoat government.
Variants and Related Words
- Underskirt: A more modern and general synonym for a petticoat as a garment.
- Slip: A related undergarment, but typically a sleeveless, dress-like garment or a half-slip (waist-down), often made of smoother fabric to prevent clinging rather than to add volume.
- Crinoline: A stiffened or structured petticoat, or a hoop framework, designed to hold a skirt out in a specific shape, popular in the 19th century.
Synonyms
- (For the garment): Underskirt, half-slip, underlayer.
- (For the symbolic term): Female, feminine, matriarchal (in context).
Related Idioms
- Under petticoat government: To be dominated or controlled by women (archaic and gender-biased idiom).
- The old bachelor claimed his married friends were all under petticoat government.
Noun
-
undergarment worn under a skirt
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