negligee

or neg·li·gée, neg·li·gé

[ neg-li-zhey, neg-li-zhey ]

noun

1. a dressing gown or robe, usually of sheer fabric and having soft, flowing lines, worn by women.
2. easy, informal attire.

negligee

/ ˈnɛɡlɪˌʒeɪ /

noun

1. a woman's light dressing gown, esp one that is lace-trimmed
2. a thin and revealing woman's nightdress
3. any informal attire

Word History and Origins

Origin of negligee¹

1745–55, Americanism; < French négligé carelessness, undress, literally, neglected, past participle of négliger < Latin negligere, variant of neglegere to neglect

Word History and Origins

Origin of negligee¹

C18: from French négligée, past participle (fem) of négliger to neglect

Example Sentences

From Chaucer’s supercilious Madame Eglantine in “The Canterbury Tales,” with her spoiled lap dogs and secular French airs, to Ryan Murphy’s ruthless Sister Jude in 2012’s “American Horror Story: Asylum,” a woman who wears a red negligee under her habit and is not above indulging in some communion wine, fictional portrayals of nuns have long captured and confounded the imagination.

From New York Times

Mauri remembered, “He told me, ‘When you go over there, she’s going to be in a negligee, low-cut, and she’s going to drop a handkerchief.

From Slate

Blurring those realms — which the original director, Harold Prince, had taken pains to keep separate — turned Sally, a Weimar party girl in Joe Masteroff’s book, into a neither-world negligee zombie.

From New York Times

In the 1950s and early ’60s, his monster movies were perfect for drive-in theaters, where audiences took in wildly improbable plots, silly dialogue and crude special effects: locusts overrunning a miniature city, a gigantic rat hovering over a girl in a negligee, Ms. Lupino being eaten by vast mealworms.

From New York Times

The negligee is coming out of the bedroom next season at Dolce & Gabbana, where sheer and lace lingerie looks set the tone during a season when nude dressing is one of the hottest trends on the Milan runway.

From Seattle Times