I do not know why you are looking it up in OED as it isn't English. (Did the English wear hennins?) I am not 100% sure where I saw the info but I believe it is Old French or possibly of Neitherland origin. I vaguely remember something about hennin and a cockscomb association. I think the modern Dutch word for cockscomb is hanekam. I am unsure what the medieval word would be.
Hope this helps, De -----Original Message----- I've been asked about the origins of the word "hennin," commonly used today for a range of 15th-century tall headdresses. I was surprised that the OED doesn't trace it back any further than the 19th c., but the OED is notoriously bad with clothing terminology, and I don't have access at the moment to the MED. Does anyone have anything more concrete -- either an MED reference, or any citation to an actual 15th c. inventory or other document that uses the term? The person who asked me was taught (quite some time ago) that it was a derogatory term used to criticize women's headdresses, but I am skeptical of the story she was told. However, it's certainly not unprecedented for 18th and 19th c. costume "historians" to pick up the wrong word from historical references and establish it as the going term for a garment, or to make up a term that gets entrenched in the literature. --Robin _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
