I googled it but all I come up with is the language or the Basque separatist organisation. I think it’s a Britishism. Any help?
Female underwear.
Wiki link.
Well, the dictionary says it’s a “close-fitting bodice, sometimes having an extension that covers the hips.” Looking at google images, it appears to be some kind of lingerie.
A part of a lady’s dress, resembling a jacket with a short skirt; – probably so called because this fashion of dress came from the Basques. (Webster); A woman’s close-fitting bodice. (Amer. Heritage); tight-fitting underwear for women which covers the top part of the body and provides support for the breasts (Cambridge).
Photo of basque (includes occupant).
Thank you!
Depends on era. Current usage = pseudocorsetlike underwear. Earlier = dress with a fitted bodice. Examples: 1857, 1923, 1940’s, 1950’s.
Rather than Googling for the meaning of a word, I would recommend that your first action should be to enter the word into Wikipedia. Entering the word “Basque” into Wikipedia produces this disambiguation page:
That’s especially useful when you want to find some meaning of a word that’s different from the most common meaning of the word.
It’s kind of interesting to see how technology and reference tools have changed over the last generation. I’m only 33, but my first instinct, when confronted with a word I haven’t seen before, is to still use the dictionary, not Google or Wikipedia. However, a handy tip if you want to use Google. You can type “define: [word]” (replacing “[word]” with the word you want the definition of) and Google will give an array of definitions and sources for you. So “define: basque” would work for the OP in Google.
I’m considerably older than you, but my current instinct, when I’m online, is to always start by looking up a word in Wikipedia. If I’m not near my computer, I use a dictionary. Sometimes the sort of information I need is more likely to be in the OED rather than Wikipedia, so I look there instead. In any case, my point in my post was that it’s unlikely that one would quickly find a definition for “Basque” that means something other than the language or the people by using Google, since the webpages that mention the language or the people will vastly outnumber the webpages that use any other meaning of the word.
I’ve always thought that one of the things that we’re teaching people at the SDMB is not just the answer to questions but also the easiest ways of researching those questions. Google is useful for many things and perhaps in many cases more useful than Wikipedia, but the question is what is the fastest way of answering this particular question. In this particular case, the fastest way is to use Wikipedia.