décolletéadj.
/deɪˈkɒlteɪ/Thesaurus »
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a. Of a dress, etc.: Cut low round the neck; low-necked.
b. Wearing a low-necked dress.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > other
slitteredc1380
tatteredc1380
accoutredc1540
suiteda1592
undressed1605
uniforma1626
full-dressed1731
tucky1748
underdresseda1784
costumed1820
décolleté1831
fancy dressed1836
winter-clad1836
sacked1847
evening-dressed1848
mufti1853
tailor-made1896
swim-suited1955
1831 C. C. F. Greville Mem. (1875) II. xiii. 106 The Queen is a prude, and will not let the ladies come décolletées to her parties.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair xlviii. 427 A stout countess of sixty, décolletée.
1884 West. Daily Press 16 Dec. 7/4 Englishwomen will imitate their French sisters in..the excessively decolleté bodices..they patronise.
c. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > moral or spiritual impurity > indecency > [adjective] > verging on
risqué1867
scabrous1880
risky1881
décolleté1890
pink1898
mondo1966
1890 Forum IX. 682 Of an American writer whose questionable book ran like wildfire into every reading home.., a publisher said: ‘You cannot blame her; she was born décolleté.’
1953 S. Kauffmann Philanderer iii. 49 Before the wildness of the twenties, there was Victorianism; and before that there was the eighteenth century, very décolleté.
1966 Listener 20 Jan. 99/3 The glittering Mrs Cheveley, with her décolleté dresses and décolleté past.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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adj.1831