Dickey

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɪki/

Definitions

1. A separate false shirtfront worn with jackets or dresses to give the appearance of a full shirt ; a short jacket or blouse worn over a dress or blouse for extra warmth or style
2. An insert piece resembling the front of a shirt, used under outerwear for a neat look ; a light outer garment like a cropped jacket meant to cover the upper body
3. A removable stiff fabric panel worn under coats to simulate a shirt ; a brief upper-body garment serving as a layering item or fashion accent

Etymology: The "dickey" that means a removable false shirtfront is a shortened form of a word that was itself a name, so the etymology runs through a nickname rather than a dictionary root. The dress accessory took its name from Dickey, the familiar diminutive of Richard, a pattern common in English where personal names were clipped and affectionately doubled into everyday nouns. Its path into the language is not fully recorded, and the origin of the diminutive itself is uncertain, so the most that can be said is that the word belongs to a family of nicknames built from first names. Among the accessories it names, the false shirtfront is the sense that stuck, and the word survives chiefly in that formal-wear meaning.

Synonyms: fake, imitation, substitute, counterfeit, sham

Antonyms: original, genuine, authentic, real, true