~ 1
informal
■ noun ( ~s ) clothes.
↘ Austral./NZ & Irish a swimming costume.
■ verb ( be/get ~ged up/out ) be or get dressed for an occasion or activity.
Derivatives
~gery noun
Origin
C18: appar. an abbrev. of obs. criminals' sl. ~eman ( s ) 'a light cloak', from Fr. ~e or L. ~a (see ~a ).
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~ 2
■ noun Brit. a unit of thermal resistance used to express the insulating properties of clothes and quilts.
Origin
1940s: from ~ 1 , on the pattern of an earlier unit called the clo (first element of clothes ).