corselet

American  

[kawr-suh-let, kawrs-lit] / ˌkɔr səˈlɛt, ˈkɔrs lɪt /

noun

1. Also corselette a woman's lightweight foundation garment combining a brassiere and girdle in one piece.

2. Armor. Also corslet

   1. a suit of light half armor or three-quarter armor of the 16th century or later.

   2. cuirass.

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corselet British  

/ ˈkɔːslɪt /

noun

1. Also spelt: corslet.  a piece of armour for the top part of the body

2. a one-piece foundation garment, usually combining a brassiere and a corset

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Etymology

Origin of corselet

1490–1500; < Middle French, equivalent to cors “bodice, body” + -elet -let

Example Sentences

Famed Choreographer Agnes de Mille, who danced the part first in 1938, turned up as Venus in droopy net stockings, ruffled corselet and a blonde wig suggesting Gorgeous George playing Lady Godiva.

From Time Magazine Archive

Herodotus describes 201 the corselet given by Amasis king of Egypt to the Minerva of Lindus and how it was inwoven or embroidered with gold.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various

A corselet of reserve drew about him; the old subtle reservation again veiled his eyes.

From Caybigan by Hopper, James

He wore long riding-boots of Spanish leather, a light corselet of tough steel, inlaid with arabesques of gold, and a big quilted Spanish hat.

From House of Torment A Tale of the Remarkable Adventures of Mr. John Commendone, Gentleman to King Phillip II of Spain at the English Court by Gull, Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger

The sun flashed upon the glittering links of his gilded corselet.

From The Golden Hope A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great by Fuller, Robert H.

Related Words

• bodice
• underwear