| 
 | 
Young Brunette Girl With A Navel Piercing And Earrings Undresses Her Red And Black Chemise On The Rocky Shore At The Sea
 | 
 
The term chemise or shift can refer to the classic smock, or else can refer to certain modern types of women's undergarments and dresses. In the classical usage it is a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations. 
Etymology 
Chemise is a French term (which today simply means shirt). This is a cognate of the Italian word camicia, and the Spanish / Portuguese language word camisa (subsequently borrowed as kameez by Hindi /Urdu/ Hindustani), all deriving ultimately from the Latin camisia, itself coming from Celtic. (The Romans avidly imported cloth and clothes from the Celts.) The English called the same shirt a smock and the Irish called it a léine (Irish pronunciation: /l̠ʲeːnʲə/). For an alternative etymology from Persian via Arabic and ultimately Greek, rather than Latin roots, refer entry under Kameez. 
 
 | 
 
 
 |