bodice

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈbɒdɪs/
• (US) IPA: /ˈbɑːdɪs/

Noun

bodice (plural bodices)

1. An article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist, lacking sleeves or with detachable sleeves.
2. A woman's blouse-like garment, especially with European folk dress.
   • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 1, Crime out of Mind^[1]:

     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. The upper portion of a one- or two-piece dress, in distinction to the skirt and sleeves.
4. (archaic) A kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone, etc., worn especially by women; a corset; stays.

Derived terms

• bodice ripper

Translations

sleeveless garment covering body from neck to waist

• Bulgarian: елече
• Dutch: kledingstuk (nl)

• Finnish: liivi (fi), toppi (fi)
• Swedish: liv n, snörliv (sv) n

blouse-like garment in European folk dress

• Finnish: liivi (fi)

upper portion of one- or two-piece dress

• Finnish: yläosa (fi), toppi (fi)

kind of under waist stiffened with whalebone

• Bulgarian: корсаж (bg) (korsáž) m 
• Dutch: lijfje (nl),keurslijf (nl)
• Finnish: korsetti (fi)
• French: corsage (fr) m

• Italian: corpetto (it) m
• Russian: корсаж (ru) (korsáž) m , корсет (ru) (korsét) m 
• Spanish: jubón (es) m