Pl. -as. [Named after François Joseph Talma, French tragedian (1763–1826).] A cape or cloak worn by men, and also by women in the 19th c.
1860. Hawthorne, Marb. Faun, i. if a lion’s skin could have been substituted for his modern talma.
1882. Mrs. Cashel Hoey and Mr. John Lillie, trans. Challamel’s Hist. Fashion in France, xxv. 221. A ‘Talma’ was a cloth mantle, with or without a hood, and trimmed in various ways, and was a special favourite with ladies. Some other shapes were extremely simple. Talmas were also called ‘Cervantes,’ or ‘Charles X.,’ or ‘Valois,’ or ‘Charles IX.’
1894. Times, 17 Aug., 9/3. [U.S. tariff] On cloaks, dolmans, jackets, talmas, ulsters, or other outside garments for ladies and children’s apparel.
