waistcoat

American  

[wes-kuht, weyst-koht] / ˈwɛs kət, ˈweɪstˌkoʊt /

noun

1. Chiefly British. vest.

2. an 18th-century garment for women that is similar to a man's vest, usually worn with a riding habit.

3. a man's body garment, often quilted and embroidered and having sleeves, worn under the doublet in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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waistcoat British  

/ ˈweɪsˌkəʊt /

noun

1. US, Canadian, and Austral name: vest.  a sleeveless waist-length garment with buttons at the front, often worn under a suit jacket

2. a man's garment worn under a doublet in the 16th century

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Other Word Forms

• underwaistcoat
  noun
• waistcoated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of waistcoat

First recorded in 1510–20; waist + coat

Explanation

A waistcoat is a piece of clothing most often worn as part of a man's suit — it's the sleeveless garment you wear over a button-up shirt and under a suit jacket. A waistcoat is essentially the same thing as a formal vest. While you might throw on a warm vest to take your dog for a walk, you're more likely to wear a waistcoat if you're an usher in your cousin's wedding. The word dates from the 15th century, when a waistcoat was long-sleeved and worn under a man's doublet, a close-fitting jacket. As the name implies, unlike longer formal coats, waistcoats were cropped at the waist.

Example Sentences

All over England, on Waistcoat Wednesday, the masses celebrated.

From Washington Post • Jul. 11, 2018

Another tiny shop, the African Waistcoat Company, offered classically tailored vests with a twist: they were made from Nigerian cloth in colorful Yoruba patterns.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2011

Waistcoat buttons, studs and cuff links, worn in sets, is an American custom that is permissible.

From Etiquette by Post, Emily

The different chambers being opened successively, every individual was effectually silenced by the sound of one cabalistical word, which was no other than Waistcoat.

From The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves by Smollett, T. (Tobias)

A Furbelow of precious Stones, an Hat buttoned with a Diamond, a Brocade Waistcoat or Petticoat, are standing Topicks.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Addison, Joseph