Mid 16th century (originally bodies): plural of body, retaining the original pronunciation. The term probably first denoted an undergarment, then known as a pair of bodice, although this sense is not recorded until the early 17th century.

• The original form of bodice was bodies, the plural of body (Old English). This referred to an item of clothing for the upper body from the mid 16th century, when the pronunciation of bodies would have been like that of bodice. A similar thing happened with dice, which is in origin the plural of die. A bodice ripper is a sexy romantic novel with a historical setting, often having a cover featuring a woman with revealingly torn clothes swooning in the arms of a masterful man. The term was not used until the start of the 1980s.