pelisse

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French pelice (modern French pelisse), from Late Latin pellicia, from Latin pellis (“skin”), from Ancient Greek πέλλα (pélla, “skin”). Doublet of pilch.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pəˈliːs/
• Rhymes: -iːs
• Homophone: police

Noun

pelisse (plural pelisses)

1. A fur-lined robe or cloak, especially as part of a uniform. [from 18th c.]
2. (now historical) A long cloak formerly worn by women, with a shoulder cape or hood, often lined or trimmed with fur. [from 18th c.]
   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 256-257:

     The mother was crimson in countenance and pelisse, and her ample dimensions spoke years of peace and plenteousness.

   • 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:

     Mrs. Wix, after Miss Overmore's last demonstration, addressed herself wholly to the little girl […] , drawing from the pocket of her dingy old pelisse a small flat parcel […]

3. (now rare) An overgarment worn by children when outside. [from 19th c.]
   • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 11, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

     Crawley is made to put on the brightest pea-green in her wardrobe, and my pupils leave off their thick shoes and tight old tartan pelisses, and wear silk stockings and muslin frocks, as fashionable baronets' daughters should.

Translations

fur-lined robe, esp. as part of a uniform

• Catalan: pellissa (ca) f
• Russian: ме́нтик (ru) (méntik)

Further reading

• pelisse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Seipels, Seiples, pieless

French

Noun

pelisse f (plural pelisses)

1. pelisse

Further reading

• “pelisse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.