Directoire

[ dee-rek-twar ]

adjective
  1. noting or pertaining to the style of French furnishings and decoration of the mid-1790s, characterized by an increasing use of Greco-Roman forms along with an introduction, toward the end, of Egyptian motifs: usually includes the Consulate period.

  2. (of costume) in the style of the period of the French Directory.

noun
  1. French History. directory (def. 5).

Origin of Directoire

1
From French; see origin at directory

Words Nearby Directoire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Directoire in a sentence

  • Correspondance diplomatique: le ministre de Talleyrand sous le Directoire.

    The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte | William Milligan Sloane
  • Everybody said that the world had not seen such undressing in public since the Grecian revival at the time of the Directoire.

    What Will People Say? | Rupert Hughes
  • We see in an adjacent wall a marble mtre—the standard measure put there under the Directoire.

    Historic Paris | Jetta S. Wolff
  • No. 48 was the well-known dancing-hall, Pavillon de lchiquier, before and under the Directoire.

    Historic Paris | Jetta S. Wolff
  • We will talk instead, if you like, of Directoire gowns, and Flying Star's chance for the gold cup.

    The Golden Web | Anthony Partridge

British Dictionary definitions for Directoire

Directoire

/ French (dirɛktwar) /


noun
  1. history the French Directory: See Directory

adjective
  1. of, in, or relating to a decorative style of the end of the 18th century in France; a form of neoclassicism

  2. characteristic of women's dress during the French Directory, typically an almost transparent dress with the waistline under the bust

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012