noun
Freq #1137800
Meanings
-
1
noun
a lace used to fasten a pair of stays or a corset
Feeling faint, she cut her staylace rather than wait for help.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of stay + lace. Here stay refers to one of the stiff supports in a fitted bodice and, in the plural, to the corset-like garment itself. A staylace was the cord drawn through eyelets to tighten and fasten those stays.