bodice

noun

bod·ice ˈbä-dəs

: the upper part of a woman's dress

archaic : corset, stays

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The Fashionable History of Bodice

The term bodice is derived from body. One sense of the word body is “the part of a garment covering the body or trunk.” In the 17th and 18th centuries a woman’s corset was often called a “pair of bodies.” The plural bodies, or bodice, was eventually interpreted as a singular. Bodice is now most often used to refer to the upper part of a woman’s dress.

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Examples of bodice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The bodice of this sweater is a solid ribbed material, while the sleeves offer the sheer and floral detailing of Lopez’s look. —

Genevieve Cepeda, People.com, 4 Dec. 2024 The monochrome look was complete with a high-neck bodice Macron wore beneath the coatdress. —

Julia Teti, WWD, 4 Dec. 2024 The pair also kicked off the season on a high at the Governors Awards, where Ronan wore a light aqua Louis Vuitton column dress with a tactile bodice. —

Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 3 Dec. 2024 The 1908 Washington Times magazine section ran a splashy story on the pedometer fad at debutante balls that included a full-page graphic that figured the women as elegantly clad, with pedometers discreetly hidden beneath expensive gowns or tucked into bodices. —

Jacqueline D. Wernimont, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bodice