négligée

alternative négligé · alternative negligee · alternative negligée

1. obsoleteCarelessly or unceremoniously dressed.
2. In the style of a negligee; revealing, titillating.

plural négligées · alternative négligé · alternative negligee · alternative negligée

1. obsoleteA woman's lightweight gown of the eighteenth century.First known use 18th–19th c.

   [S]he had on a lilac Negligee, Gause Cuffs trimmed richly, with Flowers and spangles, spangled shoes, Bows of Gause and Flowers, and a Cap!

   1777, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 78

2. historicalA necklace of beads, pearls etc.First known use 19th c.
3. archaicA state of careless undress or very informal attire.First known use 19th c.

   “Good! My lady will be sitting in her boudoir, very much in negligee, about now.”

   1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 43

4. A woman's loose-fitting nightgown, especially when short, lacy or revealing; a nightie.First known use 19th c.

   Enkhbayar has promised more jobs, free education and higher public service wages to the poverty-ravaged country. But who needs those when you've got dancing girls in black negligees?

   2000 July 3, “No: 1669 Mongolia”, in The Guardian