• (n.) A protecting ruffle or frill, as of silk or lace, sewed close to the lower edge of a skirt on the inside.
Ba`la`yeuse' noun [ French, lit., a female sweeper.] A protecting ruffle or frill, as of silk or lace, sewed close to the lower edge of a skirt on the inside. 
A balayeuse or sweeper's skirt is a women's long skirt reaching to the feet with an underskirt with a finely pleated border called a dust ruffle.