Farthingale definition
A support, such as a hoop, worn beneath a skirt to extend it horizontally from the waist, used by European women in the 1500s and 1600s.
noun
A hoop, openwork frame, or circular pad worn under the skirt, about the hips, by women in the 16th and 17th cent.
noun
The skirt or petticoat worn over this.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
farthingale
Plural:
farthingalesOrigin of farthingale
- Alteration of obsolete verdynggale from obsolete French verdugale from Old Spanish verdugado from verdugo stick, shoot of a tree from verde green from Latin viridis from virēre to be green
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle French verdugale, from Spanish verdugado, from verdugo (“rod”).
From Wiktionary