peplum

See also: péplum

English

A bronze figure of the goddess Nike, who is wearing a peplos over a chiton.

An overskirt in which the sides form points (peplum sense 3)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛpləm/

Etymology 1

From Latin peplum, from Ancient Greek πέπλον (péplon), neuter of πέπλος (péplos).

Noun

peplum (plural peplums or pepla)

1. (historical) A peplos, an Ancient Greek garment formed of a tubular piece of cloth folded back upon itself halfway down so that the top of the tube is worn around the waist, and the bottom covers the legs down to the ankles; the open top is then worn over the shoulders, and draped, in folds, down to the waist. Compare the Roman palla.
2. (historical) A kind of women's outer garment in ancient Greece; a veil.
   • 1837: Ralph Cudworth, D. D., The True Intellectual System of the Universe (First American Edition, with references and an account of the author by Thomas Birch, M. A. F. R. S.)

     And this was Neith, or Athena, that God thus described, "I am all that was, is, and shall be, and my peplum or veil, no mortal could ever uncover." […] Peplum is properly a womanish pall or veil, embroidered all over and consecrated to Minerva.

   • 1838: The North American Review, volume XLVII

     The outer garment was called the peplum, and was used more for occasions of ceremony than for ordinary convenience, as it was very long and ample, and, from the manner of putting it on, must have been inconvenient to the wearer. It was sometimes wound double round the body, […]

   • 1904, G. Woolliscroft Rhead, The Treatment of Drapery in Art:

     Over this they adopted the Greek peplum, under the name of palla. This garment, however, was exclusively confined to the gentler sex, and was never worn, as was the peplum among the Greeks, by men.

4. (fashion) A short overskirt cut in such a way that the sides form points. [from 20th century]
6. (fashion) A short overskirt attached to the waist of a garment; a basque.

Related terms

• peplos

See also

• Palla (garment) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• palla
• exomis
• himation
• chlamys
• chiton

Etymology 2

From French péplum, from Latin peplum, from Ancient Greek πέπλων (péplōn), neuter of πέπλος (péplos).

Noun

peplum (countable and uncountable, plural peplums or pepla)

1. (uncountable) A genre of Italian films based on historical or biblical epics. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. (countable) An individual film in this genre.
   • 2006, Pierluigi on Cinema:

     […] there were hastily produced B movies, such as the peplums, the spaghetti westerns, the detective stories, the horrors.

   • 2013, Bryan Senn, The Most Dangerous Cinema: People Hunting People on Film:

     While it does offer a lighter tone than most peplums, and spotlights a hero who relies more on his wits than his biceps […]

Synonyms

• (film genre): sword-and-sandal

Translations

film genre

• French: péplum (fr) m
• Spanish: péplum m

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek πέπλον (péplon), neuter variant of πέπλος (péplos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.plum/, [ˈpɛpɫ̪ʊ̃ˑ] or IPA^(key): /ˈpep.lum/, [ˈpɛpɫ̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.plum/, [ˈpɛːplum] or IPA^(key): /ˈpep.lum/, [ˈpɛplum]

Noun

peplum n (genitive peplī); second declension

1. robe of state

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	peplum	pepla
genitive	peplī	peplōrum
dative	peplō	peplīs
accusative	peplum	pepla
ablative	peplō	peplīs
vocative	peplum	pepla

Descendants

• → English: peplum
• → French: péplum
  • → English: peplum
  • → Spanish: péplum
• → Romanian: peplum
• → Spanish: peplum

References

• “pē̆plum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin peplum.

Noun

peplum n (plural peplumuri)

1. peplum

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	peplum	peplumul		peplumuri	peplumurile
genitive-dative	peplum	peplumului		peplumuri	peplumurilor
vocative	peplumule			peplumurilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin peplum. Doublet of péplum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈplum/ [peˈplũm]
• Rhymes: -um
• Syllabification: pe‧plum

Noun

peplum m (plural peplums)

1. peplum