Watteau pleat

noun

A kind of box pleat found at the back neckline of 18th-century sack-back gowns.

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Meanings

nounWatteau pleat (plural Watteau pleats)

plural Watteau pleats

  1. A kind of box pleat found at the back neckline of 18th-century sack-back gowns.

Origin

As portrayed in the paintings of Antoine Watteau. The term is used by historians and was not current at that time.

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Cite this entry
APA

Watteau pleat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watteau%20pleat

MLA

“Watteau pleat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watteau%20pleat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Watteau pleat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watteau%20pleat.

Source: Watteau pleat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.