Veragé?

[Capt Bueller]

Greetings all:

I'm currently editing the journal of a young woman from Fredericksburg, Virginia. On September 7, 1864, she wrote, "mended my veragé, dressed & went to Mr. Kelly by half past seven. Words acted, “Mis-take,” “Dram-atic,” Bal-ti-more,” “Del-i-cate.”

I've tried a number of online sources and can't seem to find a definition of the word "veragé" anywhere. I'm assuming that it is some form of textile since it required mending, but beyond that I'm totally stumped.

Any help (along with a source that I can cite) would be most appreciated.

Regards,

Andrew H. Talkov
Richmond, Virginia

[GenuineInformation]

Re: Veragé?

I don't have access to the OED at work, but I will try to dig in later. Perhaps others can be of more help. That said, using an online translation dictionary, the only thing I've found so far that makes sense is the french noun "virage," which can mean "shift" (as a noun, not verb).

http://www.wordreference.com/fren/virage

In the context of garments, "shift" can refer to a range of garments including dress, shirt, slip, or chemise. Perhaps one of those is what was meant here?

[Carolann Schmitt]

Re: Veragé?

I think this is a phonetic spelling for "barege". Barege is a sheer leno weave fabric woven with a silk warp and cotton or wool weft. It was used for dresses and, occasionally, veils. The name comes from the town of Bareges, France, where it was originally made.