négligée
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From French négligée f (past participle, adjective), from French négligé m (“underdressed; loose garment”, past participle, adjective, noun), past participle of négliger (“to neglect”), from Latin negligere.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
négligée
- (obsolete) Carelessly or unceremoniously dressed.
- (of clothing) In the style of a negligee; revealing, titillating.
Noun
négligée (plural négligées)
- (obsolete) A woman's lightweight gown of the eighteenth century. [18th–19th c.]
- 1777, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 78:
- [S]he had on a lilac Negligee, Gause Cuffs trimmed richly, with Flowers and spangles, spangled shoes, Bows of Gause and Flowers, and a Cap!
- (now historical) A necklace of beads, pearls etc. [from 19th c.]
- (now rare) A state of careless undress or very informal attire. [from 19th c.]
- 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 43:
- “Good! My lady will be sitting in her boudoir, very much in negligee, about now.”
- A woman's loose-fitting nightgown, especially when short, lacy and/or revealing; a nightie. [from 19th c.]
- 2000 July 3, “No: 1669 Mongolia”, in The Guardian[1]:
- Enkhbayar has promised more jobs, free education and higher public service wages to the poverty-ravaged country. But who needs those when you've got dancing girls in black negligees?
Translations
woman's nightgown
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Further reading
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ne.ɡli.ʒe/
Adjective
négligée
- feminine singular of négligé
Participle
négligée f sg
- feminine singular of négligé
Further reading
- “négligée”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.