shirt
.
Searchable Lemmata: shirte (ME), schirt (OScots), shirt (MdE), skyrta (ON), scuird (Ir).
Alternate Forms: cert, cherte, churt, scurte, seorte, sert, serte, shart, shearte, shert, sherte, shirtes, shirth, shorte, shuirte, shurt, shurte, sirte, sseorte, sserte, yertes.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
NOTE(n.)
Garment;
forms giving rise to MdE skirt and shirt originally shared senses, but seem to have developed distinct senses prior to the Middle English period.
A short (tunic-like?) garment. Primarily worn by men, it refers to a garment worn with a longer cyrtel. An Old English gloss refers to it with the Latin pretexta, a garment worm by children and magistrates awaiting the toga.
Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
1a(n.)
Garment;
garment worn on the upper part of the body; usually worn as an undergarment, against the skin.1. [1443] ... He hadde of harde here Schuyrte and brech ... Þe strapeles [Hrl: straples] weren swiþe streite with mani a knotte al-so ... [1444] ... A-non to is þies þe schuyrte tilde, þe brech ri3t to is to
Biblical/Hagiographic, Poetic.
[MED SLeg.Becket ((LdMisc 108) 1443-4) circa 1300]
5. [p. 227]
Off ffyne cordewan’, A goodly peyre of long pekyd schon
hosyn enclosyd • of þe most costyous cloth • of Crenseyn’
þus a bey to a jentylman • to make comparycion
With two dosyn poyntys of cheverelle • þe Aglottys of syluer feyn’.
A shert of feyn holond • but care not for þe payment
A stomachere of clere reynes • þe best may be bowth
Þow poverte be chef • lete pride þer be present
And ałł þo þat repreff pride, þou sette hem at nowth.
Cadace • wolle • or flokkys • where it may be sowth
To stuffe with-al þi dobbelet, and make þe of proporcyon
Two smale legges • And a gret body • þow it ryme nowth
ȝet loke þat þou desyre • to An þe newe faccion.
A gowne of thre ȝerdys loke þou make comparison'
Vn-to ałł degrees dayly •þat passe þin astat
A purse with-outyn mony • a daggere for devoscyon’
And þere repref is of synne • loke þu make debate
With syde lokkys I schrewe þin here • to þi coloere hangyng down’
to herebrowe qweke bestys þat tekele men onyth
[p. 228]
An hey smal bonet • for curyng of þe crowne
And ałł beggerys and pore pepyłł • haue hem on dyspyte
...
A beggerys dowtere to make gret purvyauns
To cownterfete a jentyl woman’ [...]
Here colere splayed • and furryd with Ermyn calabere or satan’
A seyn to selle lechory • to hem þat wyl bey
And þei þat wyl not by it, yet i-now xal þei han’
And telle hem it is for love • she may it not deney.
Biblical/Hagiographic, Drama, Poetic.
[MED Ludus C. ((Vsp D.8) 227-228) ante 1475]
Sex: Male, Female Use: n/a Status: n/a Rank: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: Arm, Back, Chest, Shoulder(s).
1b(n.)
Personal Name;
appears in surnames ("Roberto Sidcherte," in Pipe Rolls for 1170).(ante 1175 ?)
Sex: Male, Female Use: n/a Status: n/a Rank: n/a Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: N/A.
Etymological Evidence:
Speculative, OE scyrte (weak fem.), meaning a skirt, apron, etc; cf. Middle Low German schörte. Also compare skirt, from Old Norse skyrta (a shirt).
Irish scuird < ON skyrta
WF:
Etym Cog:
References:
