lingerie

Forms

lingerie f (plural lingeries)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French linge + -erie.^[2][3][1] The noun is from Latin lineus (“of flax, linen”).^[4][5] Littré derived it instead from linger, the linen-maker.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillot de Paris's Dit des rues de Paris, from before 1320, uses it for the trade or market in fine linen.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The early senses, the trade or market in fine linen and (1552, Robert Estienne) linen goods as a whole, have receded.^[2][7] From 1508, in the building accounts of the château de Gaillon, it also named the room where linen is stored and kept, especially in a religious community, where sewing was done there too.^[2][7] A royal ordinance of August 1485 speaks of le dit metier de lingerie, the linen trade.^[6][8]

The word lives on above all for women's underclothes, and by metonymy for the fine fabrics used for them (1844).^[7][9] English borrowed it in 1835 for linen underwear, especially women's, as a euphemism, though it was not widely used before 1852; in French the word had earlier meant a linen room, warehouse, shop or market.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1320 – Guillot de Paris uses it for the market in fine linen.^[2]
• 1485 – A royal ordinance speaks of the metier de lingerie.^[6][8]
• 1508 – The accounts of the château de Gaillon use it for a linen room.^[2][8]
• 1552 – Robert Estienne uses it for linen goods as a whole.^[2]
• 1835 – English borrows it for linen underwear.^[5]
• 1844 – It names the fabrics used for fine underwear.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) The making of and trade in linen: la lingerie pour hommes.^[9][2][6]
2. A linen room, where the linen of a household, school, hospital or community is stored and kept.^[9][6][1]
3. Women's underwear, lingerie: de la lingerie fine, acheter de la lingerie.^[9][1]
4. The fabrics used for fine women's underwear.^[9][7]
5. (rare) The staff who make or sell linen.^[2][8]

Related words

• linge
• linger
• lingère
• lin
• Latin lineus
• English lingerie

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert