boudoir English · revision 2109

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbuːdwɑː/ ''(UK)''; /buˈdwɑɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|boudoir]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) literally “a place to sulk”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from [[fr|bouder|t=to pout, sulk]]^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) and the suffix ''-oir''.^(RHWU) The French verb, like English [[pout]], is probably imitative of puffing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A room where a lady may retire to be alone or to receive her close friends (1777 in Barnhart and Etymonline; 1781 in the OED and Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The joke in the name, a lady's “sulking room”, was lost in English, where the word simply named an elegant private room.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It was later used for the people gathered in such a room,^(OED 1989) and as a modifier for things suited to one, such as a boudoir chair.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) It was rendered into English at least once, in 1906, as ''sulkery''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1777 – first recorded as a French term in English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1781 – a lady's private room.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1803 – used attributively.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1906 – Englished as ''sulkery''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A woman's private sitting room, dressing room or bedroom.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pout]]

+ * [[sulk]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}