Tunic

How to spell tunic

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce tunic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does tunic mean?

1. nounA loose, hip-length or knee-length garment, usually sleeveless or short-sleeved, worn over trousers or a skirt or as part of a uniform.

Tunic in a sentence

• She paired a long linen tunic with slim black leggings for the trip.

• The soldier's ceremonial tunic was decorated with polished brass buttons.

Where does tunic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes straight from the Latin tunica, the name of the loose-fitting undergarment worn next to the skin by both men and women in ancient Rome. The Romans themselves seem to have taken the word from a Semitic source related to Hebrew kuttoneth and Phoenician forms meaning a linen garment, which points to its deep origins in the eastern Mediterranean cloth trade. The same Latin tunica also gave rise to the anatomical and botanical term for a protective covering layer, such as the membrane of an organ or the papery skin of an onion. English absorbed the word in its modern clothing sense by the seventeenth century, retaining the simple Latin spelling almost untouched. Because it preserves that original tun-ic shape, the spelling rarely surprises a writer; the only thing to remember is the single n and the plain -ic ending.

How the word is built

• tunic (from Latin tunica, a loose body garment); a single root borrowed whole, with no separable prefix or suffix in English