chemise

See also: chemisé

English

Etymology

From Middle English chemise, from late Old English ċemes, cemes (“shirt”), and Anglo-Norman chemés (“shirt”) and Old French chainse, chamisae (“linen clothes, undergarment”); all from Late Latin camisa, camisia (“shirt, undergarment, nightgown”), from Frankish *chamithia, from Proto-Germanic *hamiþiją (“clothes, shirt, skirt”) (whence also Old English hemeþe), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱam- (“cover, clothes”). Cognate with Old High German hemidi (“shirt”) (German Hemd), Old English hemeþe (“shirt”), ham (“undergarment”), hama (“covering, dress, garment”). See also shimmy, from a dialectal variant. More at hame.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʃəˈmiːz/

Noun

chemise (plural chemises)

1. (historical) A loose shirtlike undergarment, especially for women.
2. A short nightdress, or similar piece of lingerie.
3. A woman's dress that fits loosely; a chemise dress.
4. A wall that lines the face of a bank or earthwork.

Derived terms

• chemisette

Related terms

• shimmy

Translations

a loose-fitting undergarment

• Bulgarian: женска риза f (ženska riza)
• Maori: henui

• Welsh: crys (cy) m

short nightdress

• Finnish: yöpaita (fi), paituli (fi)
• French: chemise de nuit (fr) f, nuisette (fr) f
• Japanese: シュミーズ (shumīzu), シミーズ (shimīzu)

• Maori: henui
• Russian: (же́нская OR ночна́я) соро́чка (ru) f (soróčka)

Anagrams

• schemie

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃə.miz/
• Homophones: chemisent, chemises

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Old French chemise, from Late Latin camisia, from Gaulish camisia, possibly ultimately from a Germanic reflex of Proto-Germanic *hamiþiją.

Noun

chemise f (plural chemises)

1. shirt
2. folder (office supplies)
3. chemise (wall enforcing earthwork)

Descendants

• Antillean Creole: chimiz
• Guianese Creole: chimiz
• Karipúna Creole French: ximiz
• Louisiana Creole French: chimiz, chimij, chmiz, chimiy, chmij
• Seychellois Creole: simiz, cemiz
• → Neapolitan: scemisse
• → Vietnamese: sơ-mi

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

chemise

1. first/third-person singular present indicative of chemiser
2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of chemiser
3. second-person singular imperative of chemiser

Further reading

• “chemise” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Old French

Alternative forms

• cemise

Etymology

From Late Latin camisia, from Transalpine Gaulish, of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *hamiþiją.

Noun

chemise f (oblique plural chemises, nominative singular chemise, nominative plural chemises)

1. shirt; overshirt

Descendants

• Anglo-Norman: chemés
  • → Old English: ċemes, cemes (late)
    • Middle English: chemise
      • English: chemise
        • ⇒ English: shimmy (via rebracketing of chemise as a plural form)
      • Scots: chemeis
• Gallo: chminzz
• French: chemise (see there for further descendants)
• Norman: queminse (continental Normandy), qu'minse, ch'minse (Guernsey), c'mînse (Jersey)
• Walloon: tchimijhe