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Origin and history of bra

bra(n.)

by 1923, shortening of brassiere.

also from 1923

Entries linking to bra

brassiere(n.)

by 1897, "short, boned corset, silken or laced, worn by women just as a support for the bust," a borrowing in the garment trade, from French brassière "child's chemise; shoulder strap" (17c.), from Old French braciere "arm guard" (14c.), from bras "an arm," from Latin bracchium "an arm," from Greek brakhion "an arm" (see brachio-). In 1897 brassieres were widely noted as a new addition to the fashionable wardrobe, designed to be worn with "evening gowns of a certain style" and negligees [New York Journal].  The French word was used 18c. in the sense "woman's underbodice."

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    bikini
    Variant trikini (1967), with separate bra cups held on by Velcro, falsely presumes a compound in bi-....
    brow
    source also of Old Frisian bre, Old Saxon brawa, Middle Dutch brauwe "eyelid," Old High German brawa "eyebrow," Old Norse bra...
    cup
    Meaning "part of a bra that holds a breast" is from 1938....
    strap
    1610s, "narrow band of leather," from a Scottish and/or nautical variant of strope "loop or strap on a harness" (mid-14c.), which is probably from Old French estrop "strap," from Latin stroppus "strap, band," ultimately (perhaps via Etruscan) from Greek strophos "twisted band; a
    native
    late 14c., natif, "natural, inborn, hereditary, connected with something in a natural way," from Old French natif "native, born in; raw, unspoiled" (14c.) and directly from Latin nativus "innate, produced by birth," from natus, past participle of nasci (Old Latin gnasci) "be born
    ostensible
    1730, "capable of being shown, that can be shown or seen, presentable," from French ostensible, from Latin ostens-, past-participle stem of ostendere "to show, expose to view; to stretch out, spread before; exhibit, display," from assimilated form of ob "in front of" (see ob-) +
    private
    late 14c., "pertaining or belonging to oneself, not shared, peculiar to an individual only;" of a thing, "not open to the public, for the use of privileged persons;" of a religious rule, "not shared by Christians generally, distinctive;" from Latin privatus "set apart (from what
    hegemony
    1560s, "preponderance, dominance, leadership," originally of predominance of one city state or another in Greek history; from Greek hēgemonia "leadership, a leading the way, a going first;" also "the authority or sovereignty of one city-state over a number of others," as Athens i
    diabetes
    medical name of a set of affections characterized by abnormal discharge of urine, 1560s, from medical Latin diabetes, from late Greek diabetes "excessive discharge of urine" (so named by Aretaeus the Cappadocian, physician of Alexandria, 2c.), literally "a passer-through, siphon,
    default
    early 13c., "offense, crime, sin;" late 13c., "a failing or failure, failure to act," from Old French defaute (12c.) "fault, defect, failure, culpability, lack, privation," from Vulgar Latin *defallita "a deficiency or failure," past participle of *defallere, from Latin de "away"

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