Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A garment consisting of a length of cloth that is wrapped around the body and tied at the waist or below the armpits, worn by men and women in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Pacific islands.
- noun A length of cloth that is wrapped around the waist and tied, worn by women as a skirt.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A garment used in the Indian archipelago, consisting of a piece of cloth which envelops the lower part of the body: worn by both sexes.
- noun Hence The cotton cloth generally used for this garment, especially the printed cotton imported from Europe, to which the name has been given as a trade designation.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A sort of petticoat worn by both sexes in Java and the Malay Archipelago.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
garment made of alength ofprinted cloth wrapped about thewaist that is commonly worn by men and women inMalaysia ,Sri Lanka ,India ,Indonesia , and thePacific islands .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a loose skirt consisting of brightly colored fabric wrapped around the body; worn by both women and men in the South Pacific
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I dressed up with my limited resources as a Hawaiian girl, though I think I ended up more tribal given that my sarong is covered in elephants.
Archive 2008-10-01 HayleyM 2008
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I dressed up with my limited resources as a Hawaiian girl, though I think I ended up more tribal given that my sarong is covered in elephants.
Halloween Open Dance HayleyM 2008
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In this country part, I see some ladies take the morning stroll in sarong and kabia, and I must confess I envy them, they look so lightly clothed and comfortable; and when the eye is accustomed to the costume, it is really becoming.
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887
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We had not been half an hour on deck when the Dutch ladies appeared in sarong and kabia, looking greatly relieved in the light clothing.
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887
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There she was, looking much more at home in sarong and kabia than in her satin dress, working her way up a long line as in a country dance.
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887
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The arrangement of the sarong is simply this reversed, with the advantage that walking is not impeded.
Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887
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They also wear gold or silver pins in their hair, and the sarong is girt or held up by a clasp of enormous size, and often of exquisite workmanship, in the poorer class of silver, and in the richer of gold jeweled with diamonds and rubies.
The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither Isabella Lucy 1883
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And by the way, the sarong is a traditionally male garment in Sri Lanka, and males wear tubular and rectangular sarongs by many names throughout Asia and the south Pacific, and in the highlands of Scotland.
Usain Bolt revealed as female: the obsession with intersex, Caster Semenya and binary Elizabeth McClung 2009
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Arthur C. Clarke wore them often, since in Sri Lanka the sarong is a purely male item of apparel.
Torture, a present of Goth Girls, wings and corsets and a weekend challenge to YOU Elizabeth McClung 2008
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In Sri Lanka, the sarong is a make item of apparel, and men wear something like the sarong, tubular or rectangular, throughout much of southeast Asia, and most of the south Pacific.
Girly Boys: boys who have gendered girl interests and boys on girl's teams. Elizabeth McClung 2008
bilby commented on the word sarong
Alternative spelling sarung as in the original Malay. I don't like the reference to South Pacific as sarong is definitely of Southeast Asian origin. Polynesians probably have their own traditional words for the equivalent garment. Also there is no particular requirement that sarongs be brightly coloured and I have a few myself that clearly aren't. 'Often brightly coloured' I could live with.
cheers,
B
November 14, 2007