From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishculottescu‧lottes /kjuːˈlɒts $ kjʊˈlɑːts/ noun [plural] DCCwomen’s trousers which stop at the knee and are shaped to look like a skirt
Examples from the Corpus
culottes• But they can keep the dressy culottes and pantsuits as long as they are part of a coordinated outfit.• Under that boldly amused scrutiny, her smart white gabardine culottes suddenly failed to cover quite enough bare, slender brown leg.• C Longer-length culottes are made from two layers of voile so they have a floaty, sheer effect without being at all see-through.• A one-piece red culottes suit given by former Eastenders star Anita Dobson has still to be sold.• The culottes are very full and have a comfortable, elasticated waistband.• She uncurled her legs, determinedly smoothed down the neat white culottes, and stood up.• They can wear a sweatshirt or blouse, with culottes or sweat pants.Origin culottes (1800-1900) French cul “bottom, ass” 