Zone (1)
Definition: A girdle or belt worn by both sexes in Ancient Greece and Rome in order to hold up the tunic or fasten it in place (such as to the waist). Fine examples were made of netting. Men often fastened a pera to their zone because it was more convenient than carrying a purse. Zonae were especially worn by men while working and were loosened for formal events or while performing a sacrifice. Young women wore a zonion (feminine zonae) even when their tunics were not girded up and would remove them on their wedding day. "Zone" (rendered in Greek: ζώνη) is more correctly used to refer to the garment worn by males. Plural: Zonae (Latin), zones/ζώνες (Greek).
Period: Ancient Greece and Rome.
Etymology: Latin zona, from the Greek zone/ζώνη, meaning "girdle" or "belt".
Related terms (gendered):
- Masculine: Zone/ζώνη, zoster/ζωστῆρ
- Feminine: Parthenon mitren/παρθένον μίτρην (a zonion worn by a young, unmarried woman), zone parthenike/ζώνη παρθενική (a zonion worn by a young, unmarried woman), zonion/ζώνιον
Related terms (non-gendered): Cingulum, mitra, zoma/ζῶμα, zona, zonula
In context:
Period: Ancient Greece and Rome.
Etymology: Latin zona, from the Greek zone/ζώνη, meaning "girdle" or "belt".
Related terms (gendered):
- Masculine: Zone/ζώνη, zoster/ζωστῆρ
- Feminine: Parthenon mitren/παρθένον μίτρην (a zonion worn by a young, unmarried woman), zone parthenike/ζώνη παρθενική (a zonion worn by a young, unmarried woman), zonion/ζώνιον
Related terms (non-gendered): Cingulum, mitra, zoma/ζῶμα, zona, zonula
In context:
"Te decet cingi comam floribus vernis, te caput Tyria cohibere mitra hederave mollem bacifera religare frontem. Spargere effusos sine lege crines, rursus adducto revocare nodo; qualis iratam metuens novercam creveras falsos imitatus artus, crine flaventi simulata virgo, lutea vestem retinente zona: inde tam molles placuere cultus et sinus laxi fluidumque syrma."
- Oedipus by Seneca, 413-424. |
"Thee it becomes to circle thy locks with flowers of the springtime, thee to cover thy head with Tyrian turban, or thy smooth brow to wreathe with the ivy’s clustering berries; now to fling loose thy lawless-streaming locks, again to bind them in a knot close-drawn; in such guise as when, fearing thy stepdame’s wrath, thou didst grow to manhood with false-seeming limbs, a pretended maiden with golden ringlets, with saffron girdle [zona] binding thy garments."
- Oedipus by Seneca, 413-424. |
Zone (2)
Definition: Essentially, the area on the front of a bodice (especially in the 1780's) which acts as an upside-down stomacher. This term may not be contemporary to the era. Also called "zoning".
Period: 1780's.
Other terms: Zoning
Period: 1780's.
Other terms: Zoning
Examples:
Collection of English Original Watercolour Drawings: The Windsor Uniform - Worn at the Ball at Windsor Given on the King’s Recovery 1789
Ann Frankland Lewis 1789 Watercolor on paper The Los Angeles County Museum of Art Notice the zoning on the front of the bodice. |