Lingerie exclusively for more lightweight items of female undergarments. The French word in its original form derives from the old French word "linge", meaning 'linen'. So "faire le linge", comes to mean "do the laundry". In French the word "lingerie" applies to all undergarments for either sex. In English it means women's underwear or nightclothes. Lingerie as a word was first used to refer to underwear and bras in 1922. Informal usage suggests visually appealing or even erotic clothing. Although most lingerie is designed to be worn by women, some manufactures now design lingerie for men. The concept of lingerie is
Bean nighe Bean nighe The bean nighe (Scottish Gaelic for "washerwoman" or "laundress") is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of "bean sìth" (in Irish, "bean sídhe", anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die. "Les Lavandières" is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. The "bean nighe", also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from