Hypertext Webster Gateway: "farthingale"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Farthingale \Far"thin*gale\, n. [OE. vardingale, fardingale, fr.
OF. vertugale, verdugade, F. vertugade, vertugadin, from Sp.
verdugado, being named from its hoops, fr. verdugo a young
shoot of tree, fr. verde green, fr. L. viridis. See
{Verdant}.]
A hoop skirt or hoop petticoat, or other light, elastic
material, used to extend the petticoat.
We'll revel it as bravely as the best, . . . With ruffs
and cuffs, and farthingales and things. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
farthingale
n : a hoop worn beneath a skirt to extend it horizontally; worn
by European women in the 16th and 17th centuries
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