shirt

shirt
shirtless, adj.
/sherrt/, n.
1. a long- or short-sleeved garment for the upper part of the body, usually lightweight and having a collar and a front opening.
2. an undergarment of cotton, or other material, for the upper part of the body.
3. a shirtwaist.
4. a nightshirt.
5. in one's shirt sleeves, without a coat: It was so hot that they worked in their shirt sleeves. Also, in one's shirt-sleeves.
6. keep one's shirt on, Informal. to refrain from becoming angry or impatient; remain calm: Tell him to keep his shirt on until we're ready.
7. lose one's shirt, Informal. to lose all that one possesses; suffer a severe financial reverse: He lost his shirt in the stock market.
[bef. 1150; ME schirte, OE scyrte; c. G Schürze, D schort apron, ON skyrta SKIRT]

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 any of a variety of garments having sleeves and worn on the upper part of the body, often under a coat, jacket, or other garment. Shirts were worn as early as the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt (Egypt, ancient) (c. 1539–1292 BCE); they were made of a rectangular piece of linen, folded and sewn up the sides, with openings left for the arms and a hole cut at the fold for the head. There are also shirts preserved from ancient Egypt that have long, tight sleeves sewn into the armholes.

      Toward the end of the Middle Ages, when clothing became rather closely fitted, the shirt gradually increased in importance. During the 14th century, shirts worn by the Normans (Norman) developed a neckband and cuffs. By the end of the 15th century, shirts were made in a variety of fabrics, such as wool, linen, and sometimes silk, for royalty.

      Shirts began to be embellished with embroidery, lace, and frills in the 16th century, and men's outer garments—the doublet, or jacket—had a low neckline so that the shirt showed across the chest. By the end of that century, the shirt frill had developed into the ruff, which was a mark of the aristocracy. A law, in fact, was passed in England that forbade persons without social rank from wearing elaborately decorated shirts. At the beginning of the 17th century, the doublet had become so short that the ruffled shirt was visible between it and the breeches. The new style of men's dress initiated in 1666, when Charles II of England adopted the long waistcoat, however, covered up most of the shirt.

      In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the neckcloth was so elaborate and voluminous that the valet of English dandy Beau Brummell (Brummell, Beau) sometimes spent a whole morning getting it to sit properly. Brummell set the mode in 1806 for the ruffled shirt for both day and evening wear. Men's clothing became more sombre in the Victorian age. High neckcloths were abandoned for collars and ties more or less the same as those worn in the 20th and 21st centuries. Men's shirts in the 1960s were made in a variety of stripes, patterns, and colours previously not worn. In the 20th century, women's shirts were made on lines similar to men's, though they usually included darts in the back and in the front to make them more form-fitting.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shirt — Shirt …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • shirt — ► NOUN 1) a garment for the upper body, with a collar and sleeves and buttons down the front. 2) a similar garment of light material without full fastenings, worn for sports and leisure. ● keep your shirt on Cf. ↑keep your shirt on ● lose one s… …   English terms dictionary

  • shirt — [ ʃɜrt ] noun count *** a piece of men s clothing that covers the top part of the body. It usually has long sleeves and buttons down the front: One of his shirt buttons was missing. a cotton/silk/denim shirt a. a similar piece of clothing worn by …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shirt — W3S2 [ʃə:t US ʃə:rt] n [: Old English; Origin: scyrte] 1.) a piece of clothing that covers the upper part of your body and your arms, usually has a collar, and is fastened at the front by buttons →↑blouse ▪ I have to wear a shirt and tie to work …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shirt — O.E. scyrte skirt, tunic, from P.Gmc. *skurtijon a short garment (Cf. O.N. skyrta, Swed. skjorta skirt, kirtle; M.Du. scorte, Du. schort apron; M.H.G. schurz, Ger. Schurz apron ), from the same source as O.E. scort, sceort (see …   Etymology dictionary

  • shirt — shirt·ing; shirt·less; shirt·man; shirt; shirt·waist·er; shirt·less·ness; …   English syllables

  • shirt — [shʉrt] n. [ME shert < OE scyrte (akin to Ger schürze, apron, ON skyrta, shirt) < base of scort, SHORT] 1. a) the usual sleeved garment worn by men on the upper part of the body, often under a coat or jacket, typically having a collar and a …   English World dictionary

  • Shirt — Shirt, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Shirted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Shirting}.] To cover or clothe with a shirt, or as with a shirt. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shirt — 〈 [ʃœ:t] n.; Gen.: s, Pl.: s〉 (meist kurzärmeliges) Hemd aus weichem Baumwollstoff; T Shirt; PoloShirt [Etym.: engl., »Hemd«] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

  • shirt|y — «SHUR tee», adjective, shirt|i|er, shirt|i|est. British Slang. ill tempered; ill natured …   Useful english dictionary

  • Shirt — Shirt, n. [OE. schirte, sherte, schurte; akin to Icel. skyrta, Dan. skiorte, Sw. skjorta, Dan. ski[ o]rt a petticoat, D. schort a petticoat, an argon, G. schurz, sch[ u]rze, an argon; all probably from the root of E. short, as being originally a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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