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bodice

bodice

21 6.7
The top part of a woman's dress that covers from the neck or shoulders to the waist
  • noun
  • /ˈbɒdɪs/
translation icon : corpiño
  • And now here's delicious Darla in a swirl of apricot silk above a tight bodice with a cleverly-draped décolletage.
  • fitted bodice
  • red bodice
  • tight bodice

Not that you'll be doing a lot of draping basic bodices in the industry.

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Examples

  • There is so much to tell: the gardens, the courtyard, the intricate bodice of her dress.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • A lovely powder blue dress with a cinch waist, full bodice, and a delicately pleated skirt.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • - This bodice is too tight.

  • With her hands at her back, she held the bodice tight around the waist.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We have made the most clever decision to make the bodice out of this organza.

  • I finished the bodice part of the dress, so I have like the little frills and the shoulders.

  • Now, personally, I like the one with the bows all over the bodice.

  • If you add sleeves to the bodice, and the bodice to the skirt, you have a dress.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The style featured a form-fitting bodice and eschewed the wide side.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The dress features a beautiful bodice adorned with intricate lace designs.

Compounds

bodice ripper
  • Offensive
1 9.2

Romantic stories set in the past with strong sex scenes that sometimes show forced sex

How Structured

corset
34 5.8
bodice
21 6.7
top
321 1.0
blouse
168 1.0

Surface Forms

bodice singular
bodices plural

Morphology

bodice = body (semi-transparent) = body + ice

The sense is related to 'body' (a garment covering the body) and so is somewhat guessable, but the form and suffix are irregular and not a productive modern derivation.

Etymology

Bodice comes from the old word body, which means 'the body'. It originally named a garment for the body, so a bodice is the part of a woman's dress that covers the body from the shoulders or neck to the waist.