smallclothes
- noun
- Archaic
- During the 18th century, men of status wore silk smallclothes to formal events.
Examples
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In the portrait, the gentleman is dressed in elegant smallclothes and a powdered wig.
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The museum displayed a set of embroidered smallclothes from the colonial era.
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He wore elegant smallclothes to the royal banquet.
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The smallclothes were often adorned with lace.
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In the portrait, the gentleman is dressed in elegant smallclothes and a powdered wig.
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During the 18th century, men of status wore silk smallclothes to formal events.
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The museum displayed a set of embroidered smallclothes from the colonial era.
Synonyms
6
9.9
Trousers that end above the knee and fasten below it
1
8.1
Loose knee-length trousers gathered at the knee and worn for sport or old-fashioned dress
1
9.9
A type of short loose pants that gather at the knee
1
9.9
Short trousers fastened just below the knee, worn by men in the 1600s and 1700s
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Smallclothes comes from the two words small and clothes, meaning 'little clothes', and it was used for the short, knee-length breeches men wore with coats in the 17th and 18th centuries. So, think of 'small' clothes under a big coat, which is why the word means those short formal trousers.