Meaning & use
dirndl
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableregional
A traditional dress with a close-fitting bodice and a full skirt, worn in Bavaria and Austria.
Grammar: Countable: a dirndl, two dirndls.
Patterns
- wear a dirndl
- a traditional dirndl
She wore a bright blue dirndl to the festival.
The shop sells dirndls in many different colors.
At Oktoberfest, many women dress in a dirndl and apron.
nouncountableregional
A skirt that is gathered at the waist and has no separate waistband.
Grammar: Countable; often used before another noun: a dirndl skirt.
Patterns
- a dirndl skirt
She chose a simple dirndl skirt for the summer.
The dirndl style was popular in the 1950s.
Word forms
| plural | dirndls |
|---|
Common combinations
- traditional dirndl
- The dancers wore traditional dirndls.
- dirndl dress
- She bought a dirndl dress for the wedding.
- wear a dirndl
- Tourists often wear a dirndl at the beer festival.
- dirndl skirt
- The dirndl skirt has a gathered waist.
Synonyms and how they differ
- folk dress
- A general term for traditional clothing of a region; it is broader than dirndl.
- kirtle
- An old-fashioned word for a simple dress or skirt; it does not refer specifically to the Bavarian style.
Commonly confused: dirndl or dirndl?
dirndl vs dirndl
Not to be confused with 'dirndl' meaning a type of pear or plum in some regions; the clothing sense is the most common in English.
Practice
What is a dirndl?
Choose one answer.
A dirndl is a traditional dress from Bavaria and Austria. The other options are different cultural items (sausage, clog, dance).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dirndl”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.