pareu

American  

[pahr-ey-oo] / ˈpɑr eɪˌu /

noun

1. lavalava.

2. Also pareo a length of cloth, especially of a brightly colored print, wrapped on the body like a lavalava and worn by women as a cover-up, skirt, dress, or the like.

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pareu British  

/ ˈpɑːreɪˌuː /

noun

1. a rectangle of fabric worn by Polynesians as a skirt or loincloth

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Etymology

Origin of pareu

Borrowed into English from Tahitian around 1855–60

Example Sentences

Wearing a varihued. skirtlike Tahitian pareu that he fancies, Bragg spent a happy hour emitting Tarzan yells and swinging from branch to branch.

From Time Magazine Archive

At last, wrapping a pareu about me, I went down my trail to the valley road.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

Wrapped only in a gorgeous red pareu, I sat on the paepae of the chief's house, now become mine.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick

Lloyd’s costume, in which he looks remarkably well, consists of a striped flannel shirt and a pareu.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

He came before his judge elegantly dressed, for, besides a red pareu about his middle, he wore a pink silk shawl over his shoulders.

From White Shadows in the South Seas by O'Brien, Frederick