hope chest

noun

chest for storage of clothing (trousseau) and household goods in anticipation of marriage

• Syn: ↑wedding chest

• Hypernyms: ↑chest

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noun

1. : a young woman's accumulation of clothes and domestic furnishings (as silver, linen) kept in or as if in a chest in anticipation of her marriage — compare bottom drawer

2. : a box for use as a hope chest

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(esp. formerly) a chest or the like in which a young woman collected clothing, linens, and other articles in anticipation of marriage.

[1910-15]

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hope chest noun (N American)

A place, often a trunk or chest, for things stored by a woman for her marriage, a bottom drawer

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Main Entry: ↑hope

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hope chest,

U.S. a chest in which a young woman collects articles, such as linens or tableware, that will be useful in furnishing a home of her own after she marries.

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n. a chest containing household linen and clothing stored by a woman in preparation for her marriage

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noun, pl ⋯ chests [count]

US old-fashioned : a chest or box in which a young woman keeps things (such as silverware and linen) that she will use after she gets married

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ˈhope chest 7 [hope chest] noun (NAmE)

items for the house collected by a woman, especially in the past, in preparation for her marriage (and often kept in a large ↑chest )

compare ↑bottom drawer