[shawl] 
| a square, triangular, or oblong piece of wool or other material worn, esp. by women, about the shoulders, or the head and shoulders, in place of a coat or hat outdoors, and indoors as protection against chill or dampness. |
| shawl (shôl) n. A square or oblong piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders. tr.v. shawled, shawl·ing, shawls To cover with or as if with such a piece of cloth. [Persian shāl, ultimately from Sanskrit śāṭī, cloth, sari.] |
shawl
square, oblong, or triangular protective or ornamental article of dress worn, generally by women, over the shoulders, neck, or head. It has been a common article of clothing in most parts of the world since antiquity. The period of the 19th century up to the 1870s, when the fashion silhouette changed, was known as the "shawl period" because women in Europe and America wore shawls with almost all their clothing. At the beginning of that century, shawls were a necessity in a fashionable woman's wardrobe because dresses were thin and decollete; it was a sign of gentility to wear a shawl gracefully.
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