This week’s theme
Words related to historical fashion

This week’s words
corset
tight-laced
bodice ripper
starchy
velvet glove

---

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(STAR-chee)

MEANING:

adjective:
1. Relating to, containing, or stiffened with starch.
2. Stiff and formal.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the use of starch in stiffening cotton and linen in laundering. Earliest documented use: 1633.

NOTES:

Starching was particularly important for maintaining the shape and crispness of elaborate garments in the 16th and 17th centuries. Imagine trying to impress someone on a first date when your ruff collar is limp. A stiff, starched garment looked sharp but felt unforgiving, almost like wearing cardboard. It’s hard to be relaxed when you can barely move your neck!

USAGE:

“The woman who raised her, her father’s mother, was strict and starchy; each time tomboy Anna came in from adventuring outdoors, with her hair pulled out and dirty as heck, she’d get a spanking.”
Tina Turner: Shine, No Matter What; The Economist (London, UK); Jun 3, 2023.

See more usage examples of starchy in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: