dirndl

Borrowed from German Dirndl, a diminutive of Dirne (“girl”) (Austria, Bavaria),^[1] from Middle High German dierne (“girl; servant”), from Old High German diorna, thiorna (“girl; servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“maiden, young girl; female servant, handmaid”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to flow; to run”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɜːndl̩/, [ˈdɪəndəɫ]

  • Audio (Southern England):

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɜɹnd(ə)l/, [ˈdɚndɫ̩]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: dirn‧dl

dirndl (plural dirndls)

1. A traditional Alpine woman's dress having a tight bodice and full skirt.
   • 1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 60:

     For a change, Selina was not in slacks, but in a simple dirndl and sandals.

2. In full dirndl skirt: a full skirt with a tight waistband resembling one which is part of a traditional Alpine woman's dress.
   • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 1, in Crime out of Mind, New York, N.Y.: I. Washburn, →OCLC:

     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.

• dirndl on Wikipedia.Wikipedia