Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A heavily embroidered or jeweled garment formerly worn over the chest and stomach, especially by women.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who stomachs, in any sense of the word.
- n. A stomachic; an appetizer.
- n. A part of the dress covering the front of the body, generally forming the lower part of the bodice in front and usually projecting down into the skirt or lapping over it—the name being given to the whole front piece covering the pit of the stomach and the breast. In some fashions the stomacher was richly embroidered, and ornamented with jewels, as in Europe in the sixteenth century.
- n. A plaque or brooch, usually large, the name being derived from that part of the dress upon which the brooch was worn.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who stomachs.
- n. An ornamental covering for the breast, worn originally both by men and women. Those worn by women were often richly decorated.
WordNet 3.0
- n. garment consisting of a V-shaped panel of stiff material worn over the chest and stomach in the 16th century
Etymologies
- Apparently from stomach + -er, perhaps after Middle French estomachier. (Wiktionary)
Examples
““And I,” said the youngest, “shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau, and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world.””
“And I," said the youngest, "shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world.”
“And I," said the younger, "shall wear my usual skirt; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world.”
“I dont pretend that I like wearing an old underskirt, and I hope to make dear Papa sensible of this; but against it I shall have the gold-flowered robe, on which I am determined, and my diamond stomacher, which is somewhat better than the common.”
“And I," said the youngest, "shall only have my usual petticoat; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold flowered manteau and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world.”
Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes
“(I think this garment is called a stomacher, but I am not sure, as I have never liked to ask.)”
“And I," said the youngest, "shall have my usual petticoat; but then, to make amends for that, I will put on my gold-flowered manteau, and my diamond stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world.”
“And that center front piece in the bodice? that's a "stomacher".”
“(Oxford English Dictionary) [37.2] A stomacher was a part of a woman's dress and was "a long ornate panel forming the front of an open low-necked bodice.”
“There are Good Things to Try: (yes, more Sewing Seekrits)Stretch some clear elastic on the underside and stitch in place; this way, at least the neckline doesn't gape and let your treasures escape and hit passersby in the eye;Do the same trick with stretch lace;Fill in the neckline with a couple of rows of non-stretch lace down each side, filling in toward the center;File in the neckline with a lace insert;Wear a camisole;File in the neckline with a little dickey (aka "stomacher") that you've made to coordinate out of that really pretty trim you don't know what to do with, and velcro, snap, or hook-and-eye it in place (this is for those of us who get too warm to wear another full layer underneath, most of the time).”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘stomacher’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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phrontistery-s
from phrontistery.info
sabaton, sabbatarian, sabbulonarium, sabelline, sabin, sable, sabliere, sabot, sabretache, sabulous, saburration, saccade and 1593 more...
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Quaintnesses
For those who wish no words were ever forgotten
opprobrium, tedium, encomium, odium, ire, enmity, beguile, wile, brazen, popinjay, squit, hoity-toity and 1161 more...
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ulyssean
... as in "by James Joyce"
stately, plump, aloft, gurgling, untonsured, chrysostomos, jowl, parapet, jesuit, indigestion, scutter, noserag and 688 more...
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Wordie/Wordnik Curio Cabinet
Oddments culled from my "main" lists that belong in a display cabinet of their own, plus sundry other curiosities. :-)
zeugma, ziggurat, xiphoid, xeric, whizgigging, whangdoodle, viviparous, vivific, vinolent, verjuice, vellicate, velleity and 1193 more...
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My Modern Job in the Past
Words I come across at work.
Now stripped of most military terms, which have found a new home on the list Historical Military Terms of Interest. See also (and add to!) hilarious misspe...chaise-marine, delft, delftware, quince, tympan, cresset, navvy, venn diagram, poop deck, apothecary, heliotrope, millinery and 294 more...
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The Good Soldier
Words taken from The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford.
concatenation, vorticist, imagiste, auk, acquaintanceship, perforce, tapageu, jeunes, minuet, outsound, sedulous, goodheartedness and 105 more...
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On a Field, Sable, The Letter A, Gules
Words gleaned from my reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter."
prolix, adown, besom, natal, eulogium, coadjutor, cumbrous, slumberous, inditing, anatto, impost, lucubrations and 50 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for stomacher.
chained_bear In the eighteenth century, a decorative piece for the center front of a woman's bodice. Did not always "match" the dress (and was not always intended to). Aug 26, 2008
brtom "Her hands passing slowly over her trinketed stomacher.'
Joyce, Ulysses, 15 Jan 28, 2007