petticoat

Etymology

From Middle English petticote, petycote, peticote, petite cote, equivalent to petty + coat.

noun

1. (historical) A tight, usually padded undercoat worn by men over a shirt and under the doublet.
2. (historical) A woman's undercoat, worn to be displayed beneath an open gown.
3. (historical) A fisherman's loose canvas or oilcloth skirt.
4. (archaic or historical) A type of ornamental skirt or underskirt, often displayed below a dress; chiefly in plural, designating a woman's skirts collectively.
5. A light woman's undergarment worn under a dress or skirt, and hanging either from the shoulders or (now especially) from the waist; a kind of slip, worn to make the skirt fuller, or for extra warmth.
6. (slang) A woman.
7. (historical) A bell-mouthed piece over the exhaust nozzles in the smokebox of a locomotive, strengthening and equalising the draught through the boiler-tubes.

verb

1. (transitive) To dress in a petticoat.

adj

1. (dated) Feminine; female; involving a woman.
   petticoat influence
   a petticoat affair