Definitions

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

  • noun A long, wide-sleeved Japanese robe worn with an obi and often elaborately decorated.
  • noun A loose, light robe worn chiefly by women.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Jap. costume, a garment resembling a European dressing-gown, folding across the breast, leaving the neck exposed, and held in place by a sash.

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

  • noun A kind of loose robe or gown tied with a sash, worn as a traditional outer garment by Japanese women and men. Women may wear it with a broad sash called an obi, having a large bow in the back. At present (1998), most Japanese wear it only at home or on ceremonial occasions, western-style clothing being more common in the workplace.
  • noun A similar gown worn as a dressing gown by women of Western nations.

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

  • noun A form of traditional Japanese clothing that is worn in formal occasions.
  • noun Plural form of kimono.

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

  • noun a loose robe; imitated from robes originally worn by Japanese

Etymologies

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

[Japanese : kiru, to put on, wear + mono, object.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Japanese 着物 (kimono).

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Examples

  • Yesterday, as I was about to leave for work (all grizzly and harried), Mr. Nag presented me with an unexpected gift, this beautiful Japanese kimono from a friend's shop:

    Archive 2008-03-01 The Nag 2008

  • Reversing images can make significant Japanese cultural details, such as how a kimono is tied, look wrong.

    Archive 2008-03-01 2008

  • Now move to the bookshelf and using the stool grab the doll kimono from the very top of the bookshelf.

    Archive 2007-11-01 2007

  • Art Sculptures include girl in kimono, phoenix, sumo wrestler, horse and others. 9 more pics after the jump.

    Interesting Links 60 2006

  • I had two experienced ladies helping to dress me in kimono for my wedding, and despite the fact that they were working as fast as possible, it still took them a whole hour.

    Archive 2005-01-01 2005

  • Onoto Watanna ceased to be a nom de plume, and became a persona as Winnifred posed for publicity photographs dressed in kimono, and passed herself off as a Japanese noblewoman.

    Tigers & Strawberries » The Chinese Cookbook Project II: This Little Book 2005

  • It is a pity, though, for the flocks of girls in kimono that I saw today looked absolutely lovely.

    Archive 2005-01-01 2005

  • For that reason alone, I can understand why the kimono is losing out to dresses that you can slip on in seconds.

    Archive 2005-01-01 2005

  • The word kimono is a collective term for a variety of traditional pieces of clothing and can be translated as 'thing to wear'.

    Art Knowledge News 2009

  • However the word "kimono" -- which means "thing to wear" -- was first adopted by Westerners, who used it to refer to a variety of tube-shaped Japanese garments.

    Hidden Treasures Shine a New Light on the Black Death 2009

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