vest

Definition

A sleeveless garment that buttons down the front, worn over a shirt, and often as part of a suit; a waistcoat.

Etymology

From French veste (“a vest, jacket”), from Latin vestis (“a garment, gown, robe, vestment, clothing, vesture”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis, from *wes- (“to be dressed”) (English wear). Cognate with Sanskrit वस्त्र (vastra) and Spanish vestir.

Example Sentences

• "The Jones man was looking at her hard. Now he reached into the hatch of his vest and fetched out a couple of cigars, everlasting big ones, with gilt bands on them."
• "He gripped some of the shreds and pulled off his vest and the shirt beneath it, his clothing disintegrating around him. What in the hell point was there in wearing a twenty-five-pound bulletproof vest if you could still get gunned to death?"
• "In state attended by her maiden train, / Who bore the vests that holy rites require."

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