| |
NUDE
"Nude" originally had a meaning of 'plain, bare, unadorned' in a broader sense when introduced into English from Latin nudus, originally only as a legal term 'unsupported by proof' since 1531, only used an artistic euphemism for physical nakedness in 1631, while "bare" and "naked" derive from the common early English words, with many cognates, for 'uncovered'). Some consider one term more appropriate than the other. The book Nude, Naked, Stripped suggests that these three terms define a continuum ranging from artistic or tasteful absence of clothing by choice at one end, to a forced or mandatory condition of being without clothes (e.g. strip search) at the other.
As the concept of nudity often refers more to perception by the observer than the mere description whether someone's body is covered or not, there can be a grey area, known as partial nudity. Thus, while someone exposing 'private parts' is often called 'naked' regardless of garments on other body parts (indeed, an 'undressed' state is even considered by some more sexually arousing than full nudity) hence the terms half-naked and, a fortiori, near-naked refer to a body that is not completely exposed, but showing more than is customary or considered quite acceptable, at least in a given context. However the quantity of skin exposed is not the determining criterion, it's the "quality" that counts for perception.
..
|
|
