peplum

plural peplums · plural pepla

1. Ancient GreeceA peplos, an Ancient Greek garment formed of a tubular piece of cloth folded back upon itself halfway down so that the top of the tube is worn around the waist, and the bottom covers the legs down to the ankles; the open top is then worn over the shoulders, and draped, in folds, down to the waist. Compare the Roman palla.
2. Ancient GreeceA kind of women's outer garment in ancient Greece; a veil.

   Over this they adopted the Greek peplum, under the name of palla. This garment, however, was exclusively confined to the gentler sex, and was never worn, as was the peplum among the Greeks, by men.

   1904, G. Woolliscroft Rhead, The Treatment of Drapery in Art

   2 more examples

   And this was Neith, or Athena, that God thus described, "I am all that was, is, and shall be, and my peplum or veil, no mortal could ever uncover." […] Peplum is properly a womanish pall or veil, embroidered all over and consecrated to Minerva.

   1837: Ralph Cudworth, D. D., The True Intellectual System of the Universe (First American Edition, with references and an account of the author by Thomas Birch, M. A. F. R. S.)

   1838: The North American Review, volume XLVII The outer garment was called the peplum, and was used more for occasions of ceremony than for ordinary convenience, as it was very long and ample, and, from the manner of putting it on, must have been inconvenient to the wearer. It was sometimes wound double round the body, […]

3. fashionA short overskirt cut in such a way that the sides form points.
4. fashionA short overskirt attached to the waist of a garment; a basque.

plural peplums · plural pepla

1. uncountableA genre of Italian films based on historical or biblical epics.
2. countableAn individual film in this genre.

   […] there were hastily produced B movies, such as the peplums, the spaghetti westerns, the detective stories, the horrors.

   2006, Pierluigi on Cinema

   1 more example

   While it does offer a lighter tone than most peplums, and spotlights a hero who relies more on his wits than his biceps […]

   2013, Bryan Senn, The Most Dangerous Cinema: People Hunting People on Film

   Synonyms: sword-and-sandal