nightien.
/ˈnʌɪti/, U.S. /ˈnaɪdi/ colloquial.
A nightdress or nightgown. Also (occasionally): a garment resembling this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > types of > for specific purpose > for wear during the night
wyliecoat1634
nightdress?c1663
bedgown1756
robe de nuit1823
nightgown1824
nightie1863
1863 ‘S. May’ Susy Sister ii. 17 Prudy could not help laughing, but only ‘in her sleeve,’ that is, in her ‘nightie’ sleeve, which she put up to her mouth to smother the noise.
1897 C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 205 A nice little boy at S. Timothy's,—piping liquidly in an angelic ‘nighty’ at Chapel.
1934 R. Nichols Fisbo 36 Frivolous and frolicsome and flighty As the naughtiest flapper in her newest nightie.
1972 ‘G. Black’ Bitter Tea (1973) x. 157 The hospital nighty..felt slightly scratchy.
1992 Glimmer Train iii. 8 She'd kicked the covers off in her sleep..and the hem of her nightie rode just below her hips.
Compounds
C1.
nightie case n.
ΚΠ
1968 ‘O. Mills’ Sundry Fell Designs iii. 29 Vicky's got a mangy old nightie-case she won't go to bed without.
2001 This is Wiltshire (Nexis) 6 Feb. (Leisure section) This lady was not above ritual disembowelling of that precious doggie nightie case.
C2.
nightie-clad adj.
ΚΠ
1913 R. Brooke Let. in Coll. Poems (1918) p. lxxx We may only find each other in a whiter world, nighty-clad, harped, winged, celibate.
1991 Times (Nexis) 1 Jan. The church clock chimes 13 at the instant the nightie-clad heroine..enters the graveyard.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1863