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trousseau
noun
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Trousseau is a descendant of the French verb trousser, meaning "to truss" or "to tuck up." Fittingly, a bride might truss, or bundle, a variety of items as part of her trousseau—and it is not too surprising that truss is also a trousser descendant. A less common descendant of trousser is retroussé, meaning "turned up," as in a "retroussé nose." The ultimate origin of trousser is likely the Latin verb torquēre, which means "to twist." Torquēre has many descendants in the language, among them a number of "tort" words (distort, contort, retort, extort), torque, and torture.
Examples of trousseau in a Sentence
Word History
French, from Old French, diminutive of trousse bundle, from trousser to truss
1817, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Trousseau.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trousseau. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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