Word.ws English Dictionary

torse

torse noun: a twist of cloth or wreath, typically placed underneath and forming part of a crest (as an orle or wreath) and customarily shown with six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on; rarely, it occurs as a charge.

Noun (1)

torse (plural torses)

  1. A twist of cloth or wreath, typically placed underneath and forming part of a crest (as an orle or wreath) and customarily shown with six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on; rarely, it occurs as a charge.
    Synonyms:
    orle, wreath

Noun (2)

torse (plural torses)

  1. (obsolete) The torso.
    • To Painters, for the picturing of ſome exquiſit arme, leg, torſe or wreathing of the body, or any other rare poſture, whether ſmooth or forced.1634, Henry Peacham, “Of Antiquities”, in The Compleat Gentleman. Fashioning Him Absolut, in the Most Necessary and Commendable Qualities Concerning Minde or Body, That May Be Required in a Noble...
    • One might ſtudy in this city for ages, and ſtill find ſomething new: we went from this to view the cardinal’s ſtatues, which are really very fine; there were three ſpintria executed in a very maſterly manner, all arm in arm: the torſe which I heard you talk ſo much of, is at laſt diſcovered to be a...1760, Oliver Goldsmith, “Letter XXXIII. To the same.”, in The Citizen of the World; or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher, […], volume I, London: […] [F]or the author; and sold by J. Newbery and W....

Synonyms of torse

Forms of torse

pluraltorses

Origin of torse

From Middle French torse (“wreath”), from Latin torqueō (“to twist”). Doublet of trousse and truss.

From French torse, from Italian torso, from Latin thyrsus. Doublet of thyrse, thyrsus, and torso.

Words formed from torse

Words that rhyme with torse

18 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about torse

What does torse mean?
Torse means a twist of cloth or wreath, typically placed underneath and forming part of a crest (as an orle or wreath) and customarily shown with six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on; rarely, it occurs as a charge.
What part of speech is torse?
Torse is a noun.
What is the plural of torse?
The plural of torse is torses.

Words near torse in the dictionary

  1. torsalo
  2. torsalos
  3. torsals
  4. torsatron
  5. torsatrons
  6. torse
  7. torsed
  8. torsel
  9. torsels
  10. torsemide
  11. torses

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: torse (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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Cite this entry: “torse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/torse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.