wamus

[waw-muhs, wom-uhs]

noun

plural

wamuses 

1. a heavy cardigan jacket, loosely knit and belted.

2. Also a durable, coarse, outer jacket.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wamus¹

1795–1805, < Dutch wammes (compare German Wams vest, undershirt), Middle Dutch wambuis < dialectal Old French wambois < Frankish *wamb- belly ( womb ) + French -ois -ese; gambeson

Example Sentences

He vowed that “there would be no more WaMus” and afterward the government protected all banking institutions, an important step in stemming the bank panic.

Read more on Seattle Times

In a tense meeting including Bair, Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Fed and future Treasury secretary, shouted, “The policy of the U.S. government is that there will be no more WaMus.”

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“Bonnyclabber” is thick, sour milk; “spouty” is soggy, spongy ground; “sonsy” means cute, charming or lively; and “wamus” is a man’s work jacket.

Read more on The Guardian

It’s not quite as vital as the battles to save the likes of the Amur leopard and giant panda from extinction, but a campaign to preserve a host of endangered regional American words and phrases has been launched, looking to save the likes of “wamus” to “sonsy”, and “spouty” to “bonnyclabber”.

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He was attired with a red flannel "wamus," a leathern belt girt around his waist, deer-skin leggins and moccasons, and a white felt hat that ran up to a peak.

Read more on Project Gutenberg