civilian garb | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

31 entries found.

also noncombatant, "one connected with a military or naval force other than as a fighter" (surgeons, surgeons mates, pursers, secretaries, chaplains, etc.), 1799, from non- + combatant. A word from the Napoleonic wars. Gradually extended by 1820s to "a civilian in time of war."

sackcloth (n.)

"coarse textile fabric worn as penitential or grieving garb," late 13c., literally "cloth of which sacks are made," from sack (n.1) + cloth. In the Bible it was of goats' or camels' hair, the coarsest used for clothing.

Tripoli

both the Libyan capital and the Lebanese port city represent Greek tri- "three" (see tri-) + polis "city" (see polis). In Libya, Tripolis was the name of a Phoenician colony consisting of Oea (which grew into modern Tripoli), Leptis Magna, and Sabratha. Arabic distinguishes them as Tarabulus ash-sham ("Syrian Tripoli") and Tarabulus al-garb ("Western Tripoli").

poseur (n.)

"one who practices affected attitudes," 1866, from French poseur, from verb poser "affect an attitude or pose," from Old French poser "to put, place, set" (see pose (v.1)). The word is English poser in French garb, and thus could itself be considered an affectation.

Trafalgar

cape in southwestern Spain, from Arabic taraf-al-garb "end of the west," or taraf-agarr "end of the column" (in reference to the pillars of Hercules). The British naval victory over the French there was fought Oct. 21, 1805; hence London's Trafalgar Square, named in commemoration of it.

skirt (n.)

early 14c., "lower part of a woman's dress," from Old Norse skyrta "shirt, a kind of kirtle;" see shirt. Sense development from "shirt" to "skirt" is possibly related to the long shirts of peasant garb (compare Low German cognate Schört, in some dialects "woman's gown"). Sense of "border, edge" (in outskirts, etc.) first recorded late 15c. Metonymic use for "women collectively" is from 1550s; slang sense of "young woman" is from 1906; skirt-chaser first attested 1942.

patch (n.2)

"fool, clown," 1540s, perhaps from Italian pazzo "fool," a word of unknown origin. Possibly from Old High German barzjan "to rave" [Klein]. But Buck says pazzo is originally euphemistic, and from Latin patiens "suffering," in medical use, "the patient." The form perhaps eas influenced by folk etymology derivation from patch (n.1), on notion of a fool's patched garb.

Bermuda

Atlantic island, named for Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez (d.1570), who discovered it c. 1515. Bermuda shorts first attested 1946 (in "The Princeton Alumni Weekly"), from the type of garb worn by U.S. tourists there. Bermuda triangle in the supernatural sense was popular from 1972. As the adjective form, Bermudian (1777) holds seniority over Bermudan (1895).

Templar (n.)

late 13c., from Anglo-French templer, Old French templier (c. 1200), from Medieval Latin templaris (mid-12c.), member of the medieval religious/military order known as Knights Templars (c.1118-1312), so called because they had headquarters in a building near Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem (see temple (n.1)). Their distinguishing garb was a white mantle with a red cross.

put-on (n.)

"ruse, deception," 1937, from earlier adjectival meaning "assumed, feigned" (1620s), a figurative extension of the verbal phrase on the notion of putting on costumes or disguises. To put on (v.), of clothes, garments, etc., is by early 15c.; see from put (v.) + on (adv.). Hence "clothe, cover, assume as covering" (mid-15c.) and "assume the garb or appearance of" (real or feigned), 1520s. The expression put (someone) on "play a trick on, deceive" (by 1958) seems to be a back-formation from the noun.

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