"labret" meaning in English

See labret in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈleɪbɹɪt/ (note: in anthropology), /lɒˈbreɪ/ (note: in the fashion industry, as pseudo-Gallicism) Forms: labrets [plural]
Etymology: From Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et; modelled on anklet, bracelet, etc. Sometimes incorrectly assumed to be of French origin. Pronounced in the fasion industry as /lɒˈbreɪ/ (pseudo-Gallicism). Etymology templates: {{af|en|labrum|-et|lang1=la|t1=lip}} Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et, {{IPAfont|/lɒˈbreɪ/}} /lɒˈbreɪ/, {{pseudo-loan|en|fr|nocap=1}} pseudo-Gallicism Head templates: {{en-noun}} labret (plural labrets)
  1. A body piercing consisting of an adornment attached to the lip. Synonyms: Mao, tongue pillar Derived forms: labretifery Translations (lip piercing): huulikoru (Finnish), labrete [masculine] (Portuguese)

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "labrum",
        "3": "-et",
        "lang1": "la",
        "t1": "lip"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et",
      "name": "af"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "/lɒˈbreɪ/"
      },
      "expansion": "/lɒˈbreɪ/",
      "name": "IPAfont"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "pseudo-Gallicism",
      "name": "pseudo-loan"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et; modelled on anklet, bracelet, etc. Sometimes incorrectly assumed to be of French origin. Pronounced in the fasion industry as /lɒˈbreɪ/ (pseudo-Gallicism).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "labrets",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "labret (plural labrets)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "attestations": [
        {
          "date": "from 1843",
          "references": []
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English pseudo-loans from French",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -et",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Body art",
          "orig": "en:Body art",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "labretifery"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              34,
              40
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1889, Henry Colley March, “The Meaning of Ornament; or its Archæology and its Psychology”, in Transactions of the Lancashire and Chesire Antiquarian Society, volume 7, page 162:",
          "text": "Purchas, speaking of the use of a labret by certain Mexicans, makes Peter Martyr say “that he doth not remember that he ever saw so filthy and ugly a sight,[…]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              10
            ],
            [
              86,
              92
            ],
            [
              86,
              93
            ],
            [
              218,
              224
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993, Hilary Stewart, Looking at Totem Poles, page 41:",
          "text": "The labret was an ornament worn in a perforation through the lower lip, In the north, labrets were oval in shape, generally made of wood or stone, times inlaid with small flat pieces of shell or bone. The wearing of a labret signified high rank.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, John R. Swanton, Tlingit Myths and Texts, page 115:",
          "text": "Raven wore a labret at that time set with abalone shell which was formerly very valuable, and it is from him that high-caste people afterward used those.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "2007, Margo DeMello, “Labrets”, entry in Encyclopedia of Body Adornment, page 175,\nA labret is a piercing that is attached below the lower lip, above the chin.\nAlso known as the “Mao” (because it looks like the mole above Mao Zedong's chin), the jewelry used in the labret is usually a labret stud, which of a metal shaft with a simple round stud protruding from the face; it is attached inside of the lip with a flat piece of backing metal."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A body piercing consisting of an adornment attached to the lip."
      ],
      "id": "en-labret-en-noun-oIh~S3qq",
      "links": [
        [
          "body piercing",
          "body piercing"
        ],
        [
          "consist",
          "consist"
        ],
        [
          "adornment",
          "adornment"
        ],
        [
          "attached",
          "attached"
        ],
        [
          "lip",
          "lip"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Mao"
        },
        {
          "word": "tongue pillar"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "lip piercing",
          "word": "huulikoru"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "lip piercing",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "labrete"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈleɪbɹɪt/",
      "note": "in anthropology"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/lɒˈbreɪ/",
      "note": "in the fashion industry, as pseudo-Gallicism"
    }
  ],
  "word": "labret"
}
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "labretifery"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "labrum",
        "3": "-et",
        "lang1": "la",
        "t1": "lip"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et",
      "name": "af"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "/lɒˈbreɪ/"
      },
      "expansion": "/lɒˈbreɪ/",
      "name": "IPAfont"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "pseudo-Gallicism",
      "name": "pseudo-loan"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin labrum (“lip”) + -et; modelled on anklet, bracelet, etc. Sometimes incorrectly assumed to be of French origin. Pronounced in the fasion industry as /lɒˈbreɪ/ (pseudo-Gallicism).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "labrets",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "labret (plural labrets)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "attestations": [
        {
          "date": "from 1843",
          "references": []
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English nouns",
        "English pseudo-loans from French",
        "English terms derived from French",
        "English terms derived from Latin",
        "English terms suffixed with -et",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 2 entries",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "en:Body art"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              34,
              40
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1889, Henry Colley March, “The Meaning of Ornament; or its Archæology and its Psychology”, in Transactions of the Lancashire and Chesire Antiquarian Society, volume 7, page 162:",
          "text": "Purchas, speaking of the use of a labret by certain Mexicans, makes Peter Martyr say “that he doth not remember that he ever saw so filthy and ugly a sight,[…]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              10
            ],
            [
              86,
              92
            ],
            [
              86,
              93
            ],
            [
              218,
              224
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993, Hilary Stewart, Looking at Totem Poles, page 41:",
          "text": "The labret was an ornament worn in a perforation through the lower lip, In the north, labrets were oval in shape, generally made of wood or stone, times inlaid with small flat pieces of shell or bone. The wearing of a labret signified high rank.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, John R. Swanton, Tlingit Myths and Texts, page 115:",
          "text": "Raven wore a labret at that time set with abalone shell which was formerly very valuable, and it is from him that high-caste people afterward used those.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "2007, Margo DeMello, “Labrets”, entry in Encyclopedia of Body Adornment, page 175,\nA labret is a piercing that is attached below the lower lip, above the chin.\nAlso known as the “Mao” (because it looks like the mole above Mao Zedong's chin), the jewelry used in the labret is usually a labret stud, which of a metal shaft with a simple round stud protruding from the face; it is attached inside of the lip with a flat piece of backing metal."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A body piercing consisting of an adornment attached to the lip."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "body piercing",
          "body piercing"
        ],
        [
          "consist",
          "consist"
        ],
        [
          "adornment",
          "adornment"
        ],
        [
          "attached",
          "attached"
        ],
        [
          "lip",
          "lip"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Mao"
        },
        {
          "word": "tongue pillar"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈleɪbɹɪt/",
      "note": "in anthropology"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/lɒˈbreɪ/",
      "note": "in the fashion industry, as pseudo-Gallicism"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "lip piercing",
      "word": "huulikoru"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "lip piercing",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "labrete"
    }
  ],
  "word": "labret"
}

Download raw JSONL data for labret meaning in English (3.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.