Dictionary

ganté en · ADJ

Etymology

Borrowed from French ganté.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) Gloved; wearing gloves.
   • Close by the Louis-Quinze pouff stood a man. A man got up in all the outward trappings of a gentleman: an extensive display of snowy linen, unimpeachable tailoring, ganté, botté, in perfection; nothing overdone. 1873, Grace Ramsay, A Salon in the Last Days of the Empire, and Other Sketches, London: Richard Bentley and Son, page 4:
   • What if all the pains bestowed upon her well-starched petticoat, her satin slip, and aërophane tunic, her transparent stocking, close-fitting shoe, and still closer-fitting glove (for to be bien ganté is beginning to be an article of ball-room religion in London, as it has always been in Paris) ... should end in her being fated to sit still all the evening, and write herself down “a bencher of the inner temple” of Terpsichore! 1846, Catherine Gore, Sketches of English Character, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, page 79:
   • Sr. Fop. I was always eminent for being bien ganté. 1676, George Etherege, The Man of Mode, or, Sir Fopling Flutter, London: Printed by J. Macock, for Henry Herringman, published 1684, act III, scene II, page 37:
   • To be properly chaussé and ganté are difficulties at fancy balls. As a rule, with short dresses the prettiest and most fashionable shoes are worn, either black with coloured heels and bows, or coloured shoes to match the dress, and embroidered, the stockings being of plain colour or stripes. 1882, Ardern Holt, Fancy Dresses Described, or, What to Wear at Fancy Balls, 3rd edition, London: Debenham & Freebody; Edward Arnold, page 4:

Forms

Relateds

botté · chaussé