basque
n. countablen. a tight piece of clothing for a woman's upper body that reaches down to the hips. It is often worn as underwear and sometimes has straps to hold up stockings.
n. a close-fitting bodice or item of lingerie extending from the chest to the hips, typically featuring boning and suspenders. Often used in fashion contexts to describe a silhouette that emphasizes the waist.
She wore a black lace basque under her dress.
The designer's new collection features several vintage-inspired basques made from silk and satin.
In historical fashion, the basque was a bodice with a short skirt-like extension, though modern usage almost exclusively refers to a structured item of intimate apparel.
Borrowed from French basque, from Gascon Occitan basc, from Latin Vascō, Vascōnēs pl, a pre-Roman era tribe settled in the Atlantic Biscaian gulf and Pyrenean mountain region of south-western Europe, who were ancestors of the current Basque population.
Commonly used in the context of bridal wear or high-end lingerie.