necklace

/ˈnɛkləs/

/ˈnɛkləs/

Other forms: necklaces

A necklace is jewelry you wear around your neck. You might decide your sparkly faux-diamond necklace is a bit dressy for your cousin's baseball game — but perfect for a fancy dinner out.

A necklace can be a simple gold or silver chain, a length of beads or gems, or a pendant hanging from a cord. As long as it's worn around the neck, it's a necklace. The word, which dates from the late 1500s, combines neck with lace, meaning "cord," from the Old French laz, "string, cord, or snare." The Latin root, laqueum, means "noose or snare."

Definitions of necklace

1. noun

   jewelry consisting of a cord or chain (often bearing gems) worn about the neck as an ornament (especially by women)
   types:

   chain, strand, string

   a necklace made by a stringing objects together

   chain

   a linked or connected series of objects

   choker, collar, dog collar, neckband

   necklace that fits tightly around a woman's neck

   type of:

   jewellery, jewelry

   an adornment (as a bracelet or ring or necklace) made of precious metals and set with gems (or imitation gems)