frillyadj.n.
/ˈfrɪli/, U.S. /ˈfrɪli/ A. adj.
Furnished with a frill; full of frills; resembling frills. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [adjective] > bordering or edging > frill
frilled1826
befrilled1843
frillya1845
volant1902
a1845 T. Hood To Henrietta ii, in Compl. Poet. Wks. (1906) 667 With..a pair of frilly trousers, like a little bantam cock.
1890 E. B. Custer Following Guidon xiv. 202 Our opera-glasses looked just a little ‘frilly’ in such a place, but they were really useful.
1896 Punch 21 Mar. 133/3 Blossoms flounced and frilly.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 21 Sept. 3/2 Fluffy, frilly wraps.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 19 July 3/1 Capelines..more or less frilly and floppy.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 20 Nov. 3/1 The effect was delightfully rippling and frilly.
1904 B. von Hutten Pam i. iii Pamela in a frilly nightgown.
1911 H. S. Harrison Queed vi. 75 I am a clerk,..and office girl. My official title of course, is a little more frilly.
1922 Glasgow Herald 22 Mar. 10 [He] insisted upon the need for a thorough elementary education..even if less attention were paid to the ‘frilly’ subjects than at present.
B. n. plural.
Frilled undergarments. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > underwear > [noun] > other
frilly1900
opera top1921
liner suit1969
1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth 16 Lady Doraine and that horrid Smith creature made a place for me in the empty hammock between them, and, as I knew my ‘frillies’ were all right, I hammocked too.
1917 H. Jenkins Bindle vi. 87 In the bed was a figure..rising up from a foam of frillies.
1927 Daily Express 27 June 13/4 There are bargains to be found from fur coats to ‘frillies’.
1970 S. J. Perelman Baby, it's Cold Inside 97 I am..shopping for some feminine ‘frillies’.
Derivatives
ˈfrilliness n. frilly character; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > bordering or edging > frill > frilly character
frilliness1909
1909 Westm. Gaz. 3 July 15/1 Once more everything is tending towards paniers, frilliness, flounces, and full skirts.
1927 Daily Express 27 Apr. 3/2 There was..more coy frilliness..about the evening dresses than last year.
1927 Daily Express 23 Sept. 3/3 The food was nourishing and English—..none of your Frenchified frillinesses.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.a1845