corset

¹cor·set

noun \ˈkȯr-sət\

Definition of CORSET

1

: a usually close-fitting and often laced medieval jacket

2

: a woman's close-fitting boned supporting undergarment that is often hooked and laced and that extends from above or beneath the bust or from the waist to below the hips and has garters attached

Origin of CORSET

Middle English, from Anglo-French, diminutive of cors

First Known Use: 13th century

²corset

transitive verb

Definition of CORSET

1

: to dress in or fit with a corset

2

: to restrict closely : control rigidly

First Known Use of CORSET

1845

corset

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Article of clothing worn to shape or constrict the torso. It dates to at least c. 2000 BC, when it was worn as an outer garment by men as well as women in Minoan Crete. In the 16th–17th century it was worn to flatten the chest and was reinforced with wood. Some outer corsets were jeweled and elaborately embroidered. After 1660 they were shaped to accentuate the breasts. In the 19th century the corset, now reinforced with whalebone or metal, changed with the style of dresses; over-tight lacing of corsets was blamed for numerous health problems. The corset was abandoned in the 1920s, when looser-fitting, straight clothes came into fashion, and in the 1930s it was replaced by the brassiere and girdle, made of elastic materials, and by the one-piece corselette.