chiffon

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

chiffon

Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowed from French chiffon, from Middle French chiffe (“cloth, old rag”), from Old French chipe (“rag”), from Middle English chip, chippe (“chip, shard, fragment”), from Old English ċipp (“chip, splinter, shaving”); see chip.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɪˈfɑn/, /ˈʃɪfɑn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑn

Noun

chiffon (countable and uncountable, plural chiffons)

1. A lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, like gossamer, woven of alternate S- and Z-twist crepe (high-twist) yarns made of silk, polyester, or cotton.

   Her dresses are made from these marvelous chiffons.

2. Any purely ornamental accessory on a woman's dress, such as a bunch of ribbon, lace, etc.

Derived terms

Translations

French

Etymology

From chiffe +‎ -on.

Chiffe is from Middle French chiffe (“cloth, old rag”) from Old French chipe (“rag”), from Middle English chip, chippe (“chip, shard, fragment”) from Old English ċipp (“chip, splinter, shaving”), from Old English *ċippian (“to chip, shave, splinter”), from Proto-West Germanic *kipp-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵey- (“to split; divide; germinate; sprout”). More at English chip.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃi.fɔ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

chiffon m (plural chiffons)

1. rag
2. scrap

   Synonym: loque

Derived terms

• chiffonner
• parler chiffons
• causer chiffons
• poupée de chiffon

Descendants

• → Catalan: xifó
• → English: chiffon
• → Spanish: chifón
• → Portuguese: chiffon

Further reading

• “chiffon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chiffon.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: chif‧fon

Noun

chiffon m (uncountable)

1. chiffon (sheer silk or rayon fabric)