kirtle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a garment resembling a tunic that was worn by men in the Middle Ages
  2. noun a long dress worn by women

WordNet

Kir"tle noun
Etymology
OE. kirtel, curtel, AS. cyrtel; skin to Icel. kyrtill, Sw. kjortel, Dan. kiortel, kiole.
Definitions
  1. A garment varying in form and use at different times, and worn doth by men and women.
    Wearing her Norman car, and her kirtle of blue. Longfellow.
    ✍ The term is still retained in the provinces, in the sense of " an outer petticoat." Halliwell.

Webster 1913