A woman's private dressing room or bedroom, typically elegantly furnished.
From French 'boudoir,' literally meaning 'a place to pout,' derived from 'bouder' meaning 'to pout' or 'to sulk.' The boudoir was originally conceived as a private retreat where a lady could go to pout, sulk, or simply be alone with her emotions. This charming etymology reveals that what we now think of as a glamorous dressing room was originally designed as a 'sulking room' — a private space for processing feelings away from public view.
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