Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A long scarf worn behind the neck or over the head and across the shoulders, chiefly by women in South Asia.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A double layer of cloth worn by women as a scarf, veil etc.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Hindi and Urdu dupaṭṭā, shawl of doubled cloth : du-, two (from Middle Indic; akin to Sanskrit dvau, two and dvi-, combining form of dvau; see dwo- in Indo-European roots) + paṭṭā, strip of cloth (from Middle Indic paṭṭa, cloth, from Sanskrit paṭṭaḥ, of unknown origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Hindi from Sanskrit

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Examples

  • Her head scarf, that's called a dupatta, flops up on the left side of her head, as she slumps forward and slides into the car.

    CNN Transcript Dec 30, 2007 2007

  • The kameez is the long dress-like tunic; the salwar pronounced shall-wah is the baggy trousers; the scarf/shawl is called a dupatta

    My K12 Online Conference Presentation Julie Lindsay 2006

  • The kameez is the long dress-like tunic; the salwar pronounced shall-wah is the baggy trousers; the scarf/shawl is called a dupatta

    Archive 2006-11-01 Julie Lindsay 2006

  • The dupatta is the scarf; a devout woman will use it to cover her hair, although she probably won’t take the trouble to hide every strand.

    Sucking Beyond the Telling of it 2006

  • The 'dupatta' covered head turned in my direction.

    NewsBlaze.com Current News - Top Stories 2010

  • She was lying with a 'dupatta' (long stole) wrapped around her head that partly covered her face.

    NewsBlaze.com Current News - Top Stories 2010

  • The elegant Indian scarf known as a "dupatta" is a symbol of female modesty, but in the right hands it is also an effective weapon to combat the unwanted attentions of men.

    Bangkokpost.com : Breaking News 2010

  • Dressed in women's attire and a nose-pin errantly positioned on one nostril, 38-year-old Shahzadi adjusts her 'dupatta' (scarf) over her head as she enters the office of Cantonment Board Clifton, a provincial government bureau that recently hired her.

    Global Issues News Headlines Global Issues 2010

  • Indian Women: Asserting Their Rights The elegant Indian scarf known as a "dupatta" is also an effective weapon to combat the unwanted attentions of men. ...

    Naughty Online 2010

  • The sheer sight was frightening, "says the senior citizen, adding just the other day, a monkey pulled the 'dupatta' of a woman who was crossing the road, leaving her shocked.

    Primates in the News 2010

Comments

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  • A double layer of cloth worn by Indian women as a scarf, veil etc

    March 27, 2009

  • "A scarf or kerchief (dupatta, orhni) is sometimes worn. Women wear a turban just as frequently as men do, which is not too often. The dupatta is a head covering and is never long enough to cover the breasts."

    - Charles Fabri, 'Indian Dress'.

    June 13, 2009