- bustle
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bustle1
—bustler, n. —bustlingly, adv./bus"euhl/, v., bustled, bustling, n.v.i.1. to move or act with a great show of energy (often fol. by about): He bustled about cooking breakfast.2. to abound or teem with something; display an abundance of something; teem (often fol. by with): The office bustled with people and activity.v.t.3. to cause to bustle; hustle.n.4. thriving or energetic activity; stir; ferment.[1615-25; ME bustelen to hurry aimlessly along, perh. akin to ON busla to splash about, bustle]Syn. 4. ado, flurry, agitation, fuss.bustle2—bustled, adj./bus"euhl/, n.1. fullness around or below the waist of a dress, as added by a peplum, bows, ruffles, etc.2. a pad, cushion, or framework formerly worn under the back of a woman's skirt to expand, support, and display the full cut and drape of a dress.[1780-90; orig. uncert.]
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▪ clothingitem of feminine apparel for pushing out the back portion of a skirt. The bustle, or tournure, was fashionable between 1865 and 1876 and again in the 1880s. It followed the decline of the crinoline and began as a bunching up of material behind the waist. It eventually developed into a wire cage that was attached to the petticoat and stuck out backward like a shelf, over which the dress material was draped.A related fashion trend, the pouf, or small saddle cushion worn at the back, was popular in the 1860s and '70s and revived a fashion that had originated in France in the 1780s. Padded rolls at the hips were known as “bum rolls” and “bearers” in the 16th and 17th centuries, as “cork rumps” in the 18th, and finally as “dress improvers” in Victorian times.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
