ETYM French, dim. of Old Fren. cors, French corps, body. Related to Corse.
Undergarment originally worn over a chemise. It was constructed with whalebone, which was used to give the garment shape, and laced tightly at the front or back to give women a slim and shapely profile. Despite protests against the physical damage caused by corsets, they were widely used in the 19th century to achieve the then fashionable small waist. In the early 20th century the boned corset was replaced by woven elastic, and later by girdles, as fashion moved away from the slim-waisted profile to a more natural look.
A redesigned form of the corset appeared briefly 1947 to create Christian Dior’s “New Look”— a tucked-in waist and flared skirt. In the early 1990s corsets became fashionable again as outer garments, popularized by the singer Madonna when she wore Jean-Paul Gaultier’s corset-based designs for her 1990 world tour.
A woman's close-fitting foundation garment; SYN. girdle, panty girdle, stays.

To dress with a corset.