the.com/lingerie
French for underwear, American for 'this cost more than my rent.'
means Fine, decorative undergarments and sleepwear, typically women's — think lace, silk, and price tags that don't match the amount of fabric involved.
from French 'lingerie' originally just meant linen goods or linen-drapery, built from 'linge' (linen), which traces back to Latin 'linum' (flax/linen). It covered sheets, shirts, and underthings alike — anything made of linen. English borrowed the word in the 1800s and narrowed its focus almost entirely to women's underwear, letting the French retain the mundane laundry-room sense while we ran off with the silk and lace.
- false friend
- French people just say sous-vêtements for everyday underwear
- industry size
- global lingerie market worth tens of billions annually
- victoria's secret
- turned the word into a stadium-filling fashion show
- word age
- entered English usage around the 1850s