WAISTCOAT • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Waistcoat

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noun

Waistcoat n.

A short, sleeveless coat or garment for men, worn under the coat, extending no lower than the hips, and covering the waist; a vest.

A garment occasionally worn by women as a part of fashionable costume. Note: The waistcoat was a part of female attire as well as male... It was only when the waistcoat was worn without a gown or upper dress that it was considered the mark of a mad or profligate woman.

Synonyms: See Vest.

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Etymology of 'Waistcoat'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Waistcoat" Quotes from Famous Books

... muttered; "it can't be hers! Has her sorrow come on her already?" He slipped it into his own waistcoat pocket. "I think I'm justified," he said, "till ...

— The Wisdom of Father Brown • G. K. Chesterton

... chute, the bridegroom and his best man have emerged from the vestryroom and begun the short march to the prie-dieu. They walk haltingly, clumsily, uncertainly, stealing occasional glances at the advancing bridal party. The bridegroom feels of his lower right-hand waistcoat pocket; the ring is still there. The best man wriggles his cuffs. No one, however, pays any heed to them. They are not even seen, indeed, until the bride and her father reach the open space in front of the altar. ...

— A Book of Burlesques • H. L. Mencken

... but were unable to advance through the deep sand, and were annihilated by the enemy's fire. A ball struck the King, whose life was saved by the circumstance of its coming in contact with an etui in his waistcoat pocket. He was obliged to be carried almost by force off the field when all was lost. The poet Kleist, after storming three batteries and crushing his right hand, took his sword in his left hand and fell while attempting to ...

— The Great Events by Famous Historians, v. 13 • Various

... class. She is evidently waiting for somebody, and though she may have made up her mind to go to church with him one of these mornings, I don't think they have any such intention on this particular afternoon. Here he is, at last. The white trousers, blue coat, and yellow waistcoat—and more especially that cock of the hat—indicate, as surely as inanimate objects can, that Chalk Farm and not the parish church, is their destination. The girl colours up, and puts out her hand with a very awkward affectation of indifference. He gives it a gallant squeeze, and ...

— Sunday Under Three Heads • Charles Dickens

... in clothes, pitied him, and against the next night provided him a waistcoat. Robin, coming the next night to work, as he did before, espied the waistcoat, whereat he ...

— The Sources and Analogues of 'A Midsummer-night's Dream' • Compiled by Frank Sidgwick

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