waist
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg-s- (“to multiply, increase”). Cognate with Middle English wacste (“growth, increase, might, power”), Middle High German wahst (“growth”), Danish vækst (“growth”), Swedish växt (“growth, development, size”), Icelandic vöxtur (“growth”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (wahstus, “growth”). Related to Old English weaxan (“to grow, increase”). More at wax.
Pronunciation
Noun
waist (plural waists)
- (anatomy) The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.
- A part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist.
- The narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects (e.g., bees, ants and wasps).
- The middle portion of the hull of a ship or the fuselage of an aircraft.
- (nautical) That part of the upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 18”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist.
- The middle part of anything.
- The waist of a bell widens into the lip.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
- In the dead vast and middle of the night
Derived terms
- dropped waist
- drop waist
- emancipation waist
- empire-waist
- empire waist
- pantywaist
- paperbag waist
- sheer-to-waist
- shirt waist
- shirt-waist
- shirtwaist
- snatched waist
- strip to the waist
- waist bag
- waistband
- waist chain
- waist cincher
- waistcoat
- waist-deep
- waist-deep in the Big Muddy
- waist-high
- waistless
- waistline
- waist overalls
- wasp waist
Descendants
- → Japanese: ウエスト (uesuto)
Translations
part of the body
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part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist
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narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects
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middle portion of the hull of a ship or the fuselage of an aircraft
nautical: upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle
middle part of anything
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Further reading
Waist in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Waist on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
Gothic
Romanization
waist
- Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍃𐍄
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
waist
- Alternative form of wast (“waste (noun)”)
Etymology 2
Noun
waist
- Alternative form of wast (“waist”)
Etymology 3
Verb
waist
- Alternative form of wasten
Scots
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wæxt, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstī, form Proto-Germanic *wahstuz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /west/
- (Doric Scots) IPA(key): /wəist/
Noun
waist (plural waists)