crinoline

C2 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈkrɪnəlɪn/ UK /ˈkrɪnəlɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #98851

Meanings

1

noun
a stiff or hooped petticoat, or its framework, worn to hold a skirt out from the body

The costume designer built a light steel crinoline beneath the wide Victorian skirt.
2

noun
a stiff fabric originally made with horsehair and linen or cotton and used to support garments

A layer of crinoline gave the hat brim enough stiffness to hold its shape.
3

noun
engineering: a hooplike supporting or protective framework, such as boiler hoops or anti-torpedo netting

Workers inspected the boiler's crinoline before replacing the outer cladding.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a stiff or hooped... hoop skirthooped petticoat

2 noun · a stiff fabric originally... stiffening fabric

3 noun · engineering: a hooplike... hoop framework

Word family

Forms crinolines

Derived forms crinolettecrinolined

Related forms petticoat farthingale hoop horsehair

Etymology

Borrowed through French crinoline from Italian crinolino, formed from crino ("horsehair") + lino ("linen"). It first named a horsehair-and-linen stiffening fabric, then the petticoat or hoop framework made from it.

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# crinoline

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkrɪnəlɪn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkrɪnəlɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 98851

## Meanings
1. a stiff or hooped petticoat, or its framework, worn to hold a skirt out from the body
2. a stiff fabric originally made with horsehair and linen or cotton and used to support garments
3. engineering: a hooplike supporting or protective framework, such as boiler hoops or anti-torpedo netting

## Examples
- The costume designer built a light steel crinoline beneath the wide Victorian skirt.
- A layer of crinoline gave the hat brim enough stiffness to hold its shape.
- Workers inspected the boiler's crinoline before replacing the outer cladding.

## Synonyms
- hoop skirt
- hooped petticoat
- stiffening fabric

## Derived Forms
- crinolette
- crinolined

## Related Forms
- petticoat
- farthingale
- hoop
- horsehair

## Etymology
Borrowed through French crinoline from Italian crinolino, formed from crino ("horsehair") + lino ("linen"). It first named a horsehair-and-linen stiffening fabric, then the petticoat or hoop framework made from it.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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