Corselets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of armor designed to cover the torso and protect vital organs while allowing for mobility
2. A protective garment often made of metal plates, fitted to shield the body from injury during combat
3. A historical piece of battle attire that encases the upper body, typically used by soldiers in the past

Etymology: "Corselets" is the plural of "corselet," a term for body armour covering the torso, and the word has a neat origin in French. It comes from Old French "corselet," a diminutive of "cors," meaning "body," which descends from Latin "corpus." The same Latin root gives English "corpse" and "corps," so this armour is etymologically a small body. The "-let" ending is the French diminutive, the same suffix seen in "booklet" and "piglet," so the word literally means "little body" or "little torso." English borrowed the term in the 15th or 16th century, when it was used for light armour that protected the chest and back, sometimes with tassets covering the thighs. Some later writers applied it to close-fitting garments, which is why the word still sometimes appears in fashion history.