Smock
Kittel describes a coat-like item of clothing made of light material that is mainly worn at work for protection or for hygienic reasons, or a wide, shirt-like blouse that is worn over a skirt or trousers. In southern Germany and Switzerland , it corresponds to a jacket, and in Bavarian and Austrian, out of date, a ladies' skirt .
etymology
Kittel as ' shirt-like outer clothing, work coat , apron ', mhd. Kitel, kittel for 'light shirt for men and women' or mnd. kēdel, keddel , mnl. keel, kidel, kēdel 'wide, short outer dress' is usually understood as a derivation of a word borrowed from the Arabic quṭun ' cotton ' (cf. calico ). De Vries, on the other hand, saw a connection to the Dutch kiele 'apron, upper part of the pants '. A development of meaning from 'wedge-shaped trouser insert' via 'top of trousers' to 'apron, smock' is to be assumed. Both attempts at derivation are uncertain and the spelling Küttel, which was common until the 18th century, should be understood as a folk etymological deminutive based on the cowl . In Yiddish , the smock stands for a white overcoat that is worn by men on high holidays like Yom Kippur . The smock is also worn as a death shirt .
material
In the 1960s, polyamide (brand name nylon) came into use as a material . It was cheap to make and non-iron. The disadvantage is the lack of breathability. With falling prices for other fabrics, other materials (mainly cotton or cotton blends) came into use. Nylon gowns have therefore almost completely disappeared from the market. It is sometimes still used for dyeing aprons in the hairdressing trade or because of its antistatic properties in animal care or certain laboratory areas. In the GDR , the polyamide produced there was called Dederon and was used to make women's smocks until the fall of the country. Dederon smocks are still offered at many East German weekly markets.
Workwear
In Switzerland and in the southern German-speaking area, more precisely mainly in Baden , Swabian , Lower Franconian and Palatinate , the term is often used instead of jacket . In the rest of the German-speaking world, smock is more likely to mean work clothing such as work smocks , laboratory smocks or doctor smocks . It is worn by both women and men, is often made of white cotton, but can also be colored and patterned. Alternatively, a tunic can be worn in healthcare .
The work smock is open at the front and is usually closed with buttons, but there are also wrap designs with ribbons. There are also gowns that are closed at the front and closed with buttons in the back (back gowns). There are gowns that are buttoned at the back and have a continuous button placket, or those that are closed with 3 buttons in the upper back and are open in the lower area. Back gowns with 3-button fastenings were widespread in the medical sector until the 1970s. In the GDR it was available until the 1990s as a variant with a continuous button on the back. For dental technicians , these gowns still find use today.
Smock apron
Called smock aprons or dress aprons, they are a further development of the apron. It not only protects larger parts of the body, but also offers advantages in terms of occupational safety : It fits closer to the body and has no straps or fluttering parts that could get into machines or get stuck somewhere. For work in the household or on the farm, sleeveless gowns or those with short sleeves are particularly popular. Long-sleeved gowns are mainly found where there is a need for protection; they are often referred to as professional or laboratory coats.
Overall, fewer and fewer gowns are being offered. In the household sector, older women still wear smocks from old habit.
Smock in Judaism
The Yiddish term smock (קיטל) refers to a white linen robe that religious Jews wear in the synagogue or at home on public holidays. The smock is complemented by the tallit (prayer shawl). It is especially common on the Day of Atonement for men to wear the smock. This custom is based on a verse in the book of the prophet Isaiah : "If your sins are red as scarlet, they shall be white like snow" (1:18). It is also customary in Judaism to be buried in a smock. The word "Sargenes" is also known for the smock as a death dress.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kittel, der , duden.de, accessed on March 2, 2013
- ^ Etymological dictionary according to Pfeifer, online in DWDS , accessed on March 2, 2013
- ^ Augustin Cabanès: Le Costume du Medicin en France. Longuet, Paris 1921.
- ↑ https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Kittelschuerze
- ↑ Noemi Berger: The color white symbolizes both purity and holiness in Judaism, in: Jüdische Allgemeine from June 27, 2016. URL: https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/glossar/weiss/
