corset English · revision 1086

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɔː(ɹ).sɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|fro|corset|t=bodice, tunic]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a diminutive of ''cors'' “body”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la|corpus|t=body]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A close-fitting body garment, especially a laced bodice worn as an outer garment by women in the Middle Ages (1299).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1795 the word meant a stiff, closely fitting undergarment stiffened with whalebone and laced, worn chiefly by women to shape the figure.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Corsets fell out of fashion after the First World War;^(Etymonline) Etymonline quotes Frederick Lewis Allen on the fall in corset sales in the 1920s.^(Etymonline) From 1833 the word also meant a supporting garment worn for injury or weakness of the spine.^(OED 1989) The verb, to dress in a corset, is from 1845,^(MW Collegiate) and figuratively it means to restrict closely.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1299 – a laced bodice.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1795 – a stiffened undergarment.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1829 – ''corseted''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1833 – a supporting garment for injury.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – verb, to fit with a corset.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A close-fitting undergarment, often stiffened with stays and laced, worn to support and shape the waist, hips and bust.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A close-fitting, often laced jacket or [[bodice]] worn in the Middle Ages.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To enclose in a corset.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To restrict or regulate strictly.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[corsetless]]

+ * [[corsetry]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stays]]

+ * [[bodice]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}