dirndl

See also: Dirndl

English

WOTD – 26 October 2023

Borrowed from German Dirndl, a diminutive of Dirne (“girl”) (Austria, Bavaria),^[1] from Middle High German dierne (“girl; servant”), from Old High German diorna, thiorna (“girl; servant”), from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“maiden, young girl; female servant, handmaid”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to flow; to run”).

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɜːndl̩/, [ˈdɪəndəɫ]
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɜɹnd(ə)l/, [ˈdɚndɫ̩]
- Audio (US): (file)
Hyphenation: dirn‧dl

dirndl (plural dirndls)

A traditional Alpine woman's dress having a tight bodice and full skirt.
- 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 1, in Crime out of Mind, New York, N.Y.: I. Washburn, →OCLC:
  On the cover of the leaflet advertising the Alpenrose Gasthof in Zirl am Gurgl […] there is a decorative picture of a young woman. She is wearing Tyrolese costume: the low-cut white bodice with cross-laced velvet waistcoat, the floral apron and dirndl skirt.
In full dirndl skirt: a full skirt with a tight waistband resembling one which is part of a traditional Alpine woman's dress.

traditional Alpine woman’s dress

full skirt with a tight waistband