Bodier

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a craftsperson who made close-fitting bodices, the upper garments of a dress
2. A tradesperson of earlier times who sewed the fitted upper parts of women's gowns and stays
3. Someone who once fashioned the snug, laced torso garments known as bodices for clothing

Etymology: Bodier is most likely built on "body" plus the agent suffix "-ier," which English took from Old French and which corresponds to the Latin "-arius" seen in words like "grocer" and "carrier." The sense it carries is tied to the body or to making something shaped to fit it, which links it to the garment bodice, though the exact connection is uncertain. The English noun "body" goes back to Old English "bodig," and it was used for the physical frame of a person or animal long before it meant a whole group, such as a "body" of laws or a legislative body.