- waist
- O.E. *wæst "growth," hence, perhaps, "where the body grows," from P.Gmc. *wahs-tu- (cf. O.E. wæstm, O.N. vaxtr, Swed. växt, O.H.G. wahst "growth, increase," Goth. wahstus "stature," O.E. weaxan "to grow" see wax (v.)), from PIE *wegs-, extended form of base *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Meaning "portion of a garment that covers the waist" (but, due to fashion styles, often is above or below it) is from 1650. Waistcoat is attested from 1519. Waistline is attested from 1896.
- pantywaist
- "weak or effeminate male," 1936, from a type of child's garment with short pants that buttoned to the waist of a shirt.
- vital statistics
- 1837, with reference to birth, marriage, death, etc.; meaning "a woman's bust, waist, and hip measurements" is from 1952. See vital.
- sash (1)
- "strip of cloth," 1599, "strip of cloth twisted into a turban," from Arabic shash "muslin cloth." Meaning "strip of cloth worn about the waist or over the shoulder" first recorded 1681.
- cummerbund
- 1616, from Hindi kamarband "loin band," from Pers. kamar "waist" + band "something that ties," from Avestan banda- "bond, fetter," from PIE base *bhendh- "to bind" (see bend).
- girdle
- O.E. gyrdel "belt, sash, cord about the waist," common Gmc. (cf. O.N. gyrðill, O.Fris. gerdel, Ger. gürtel "belt"), related to O.E. gyrdan "to gird" (see gird). Modern euphemistic sense of "elastic corset" first recorded 1925.
- hourglass
- 1510s, from hour + glass. Used 19c. in a variety of technical and scientific senses to describe the shape; reference to women's bodies is attested by 1897.
"Men condemn corsets in the abstract, and are sometimes brave enough to insist that the women of their households shall be emancipated from them; and yet their eyes have been so generally educated to the approval of the small waist, and the hourglass figure, that they often hinder women who seek a hygienic style of dress." [Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, "The Story of My Life," 1898]
- pajamas
- 1800, pai jamahs "loose trousers tied at the waist," worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear, from Hindi pajama, probably from Pers. paejamah, lit. "leg clothing," from pae "leg" (from PIE *ped- "foot," see foot) + jamah "clothing." Modern spelling (U.S.) is from 1845. British spelling tends toward pyjamas.
- mitre
- "bishop's tall hat," late 14c., from O.Fr. mitre, from L. mitra, from Gk. mitra "headband, turban," earlier a piece of armor worn about the waist, from PIE base *mei- "to tie" (cf. Skt. Mitrah, O.Pers. Mithra-, god names; Rus. mir "world, peace," Gk. mitos "a warp thread"). In L., "a kind of headdress common among Asiatics, the wearing of which by men was regarded in Rome as a mark of effeminacy" [OED]. But the word was used in Vulgate to translate Heb. micnepheth "headdress of a priest."
- hobby
- 1298, "small horse, pony," later "mock horse used in the morris dance," and c.1550 "child's toy riding horse," which led to a transferred sense of "favorite pastime or avocation," first recorded 1676. The connecting notion being "activity that doesn't go anywhere." Probably originally a proper name for a horse (cf. dobbin), a dim. of Robert or Robin. The original hobbyhorse was a "Tourney Horse," a wooden or basketwork frame worn around the waist and held on with shoulder straps, with a fake tail and horse head attached, so the wearer appears to be riding a horse. These were part of church and civic celebrations at Midsummer and New Year's throughout England.
- entomology
- 1766, from Fr. entomologie (1764), coined from Gk. entomon "insect" + logia "study of." Entomon is neut. of entomos "having a notch or cut (at the waist)," so called by Aristotle in reference to the segmented division of insect bodies, from en- "in" + temnein "to cut." Compare insect.
"I have given the name insectology to that part of natural history which has insects for its object; that of entomology ... would undoubtedly have been more suitable ... but its barbarous sound terryfy'd me." [Charles Bonnet's Eng. translation of his "Contemplation de la nature," 1766]
- wasp
- O.E. wæps, wæsp, altered (probably by influence of L. vespa) from W.Gmc. *wabis- (cf. O.S. waspa, M.Du. wespe, Du. wesp, O.H.G. wafsa, Ger. Wespe, Dan. hveps), from PIE *wobhes-/*wops- (cf. L. vespa, Lith. vapsa, O.C.S. vosa "wasp," O.Ir. foich "drone"), perhaps from *webh- "weave" (cf. Gk. hyphos "web," O.E. webb "web," O.N. vefa "to weave"). If that is the correct derivation, the insect would be so called for the shape of its nest. Waspish in the sense of "irascible, spiteful" is attested from 1566. Wasp-waist is recorded from 1870.