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chiffon love

chiffon

Definitions

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

  • noun A plain-woven fabric of sheer silk, cotton, or rayon.
  • noun Ornamental accessories, such as ribbons or laces, for women's clothing.
  • adjective Of, relating to, or resembling the fabric chiffon.
  • adjective Made light and fluffy by the addition of beaten egg whites or gelatin.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A thin gauze.
  • noun A bit of feminine finery; something used by women purely for adornment.
  • noun A thin gauze.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Any merely ornamental adjunct of a woman's dress, as a bunch of ribbon, lace, etc.
  • noun A kind of soft gauzy material used for ruches, trimmings, etc.

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

  • noun A sheer silk or rayon fabric

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a sheer fabric of silk or rayon

Etymologies

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

[French, rag, scrap, ornamental piece of ribbon or lace, from chiffe, rag, alteration (influenced by Old French chifre, zero, thing of little value) of Old French chipe, from Middle English chip, chip, wood shaving; see chip.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French chiffon, from Middle French chiffe "cloth, old rag" from Old French chipe "rag", from Middle English chip, chippe "chip, shard, fragment" from Old English ċipp "chip, splinter, beam" from Proto-Germanic *kippaz, *kipaz (“log, beam”). Akin to Old Saxon kip "beam, post", Old High German kipfa "axle-rod, stave". More at chip.

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Examples

  • This pumpkin chiffon cake is one of my favorite alternatives to pumpkin pie.

    Baking Bites » Print » Pumpkin Chiffon Cake 2008

  • This pumpkin chiffon cake is one of my favorite alternatives to pumpkin pie.

    Pumpkin Chiffon Cake | Baking Bites 2008

  • Pumpkin chiffon sounds divine — and I agree, doesn’t sound like it needs anything on top, just a cup of coffee to go with it

    Pumpkin Chiffon Cake | Baking Bites 2008

  • As it happened, the chiffon was my lady's chemise!

    Woman as Decoration Emily Burbank

  • They can be made of cotton velvet, or any kind of chiffon or silky material, in the same simple way as the fringed muslin curtains.

    A Plain House - Inside Windows 2008

  • They can be made of cotton velvet, or any kind of chiffon or silky material, in the same simple way as the fringed muslin curtains.

    Archive 2008-04-01 2008

  • Draped, sensual materials, such as chiffon or lightweight jersey, are a main detail, says Ms. Chang.

    Spring Looks Eustacia Huen 2008

  • If the sun or misfortune has been unkind since age alone these days is not sufficient reason for damaged skin, then it's sometimes not a bad idea to have a sheer or semi-sheer bodice up to the neck, such as chiffon or lace, but I for one don't believe that age alone is sufficient reason to not wear it.

    Thinking about Prom, or Holiday? - A Dress A Day 2007

  • Another pretty style which we seldom meet with was some part of the picture covered with the almost obsolete "ærophane," a kind of chiffon or crape which was much in request even up to fifty years ago.

    Chats on Old Lace and Needlework Emily Leigh Lowes

  • "You know I always was a queer little beast," said this letter, after a few pages in which such words as "chiffon," "corsage," "lingerie,"

    Double Trouble Or, Every Hero His Own Villain Herbert Quick 1893

Comments

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  • yarb commented on the word chiffon

    Citation on pall.

    June 22, 2008