Word.ws English Dictionary

farthingale

Syllables: far·thin·galeUK/ˈfɑːðɪŋɡeɪl/US/ˈfɑɹðɪŋɡeɪl/

farthingale noun: a hooped structure in cloth worn to extend the skirt of women's dresses; a hooped petticoat.

farthingale: a hooped structure in cloth worn to extend the skirt of women's dresses; a hooped petticoat
Image: Diego Velázquez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

farthingale (plural farthingales)

  1. (historical) A hooped structure in cloth worn to extend the skirt of women's dresses; a hooped petticoat.
    • women […] make trunk-sleeves of wyre and whale-bone bodies, backes of lathes, and stiffe bumbasted verdugals, and to the open-view of all men paint and embellish themselves with counterfeit and borrowed beauties[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
    • As I entered the room, the fire from the large square stove, where the logs were burning lustily, threw a red, flickering light through the wide-open door over the room, which was very deep, and furnished in the old style with high-backed Russia leather chairs, and one of those settees which were...1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 4
    Synonyms:
    hoop skirt

Synonyms of farthingale

Forms of farthingale

pluralfarthingales
alternative formfardingale
alternative formvardingale
alternative formverdingall
alternative formverdugal

Origin of farthingale

Hobson-Jobson of earlier forms vardingale, etc., borrowed from Middle French verdugale, from Spanish verdugado, from verdugo (“rod”).

Words formed from farthingale

Phrases with farthingale

Questions about farthingale

What does farthingale mean?
Farthingale means a hooped structure in cloth worn to extend the skirt of women's dresses; a hooped petticoat.
What part of speech is farthingale?
Farthingale is a noun.
How do you pronounce farthingale?
Farthingale is pronounced /ˈfɑːðɪŋɡeɪl/ (UK).
What is the plural of farthingale?
The plural of farthingale is farthingales.

Words near farthingale in the dictionary

  1. farthing dip
  2. farthing dips
  3. farthing loaf
  4. farthing loaves
  5. Farthing Street
  6. farthingale
  7. farthingale chair
  8. farthingale chairs
  9. farthingales
  10. farthingdale
  11. farthingdales

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: farthingale (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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