blouse

uniform or coat with buttons down the front

“blouse d'hôpital” — hospital gown

Related: blouses blanches

1788, of obscure origin. Three hypotheses are: * French blousse (“scraps of wool”), from Occitan lano blouso (“pure or short wool”), from blous, blos (“pure, empty, bare”), from Old High German blōz (“naked, bare”) (German bloß (“bare”)) * A conflation of the aforementioned and French bliaud, bliaut (a kind of smock or robe, whence English bliaus, bliaut), from Old French bliau, also from Frankish *blīfald (“topcoat of scarlet colour”), from *blīu (“coloured, bright”) + *fald (“crease, fold”). M

any one of the holes on a billiards table

belouse is earlier. The word appears already in the early 17ᵗʰ century and its origin is unknown.