Waist

Pronunciation

• IPA: /weɪst/
• Rhymes: -eɪst
• Homophones: waste

Alternative forms

• waste, wast obsolete

Origin

From Middle English waste, wast ("stature, waist"), from Old English *wǣst, *wǣxt, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz ("growth, development, stature, build"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg-s- ("to multiply, increase"). Cognate with Middle High German wahst ("growth"), Danish vækst ("growth"), Swedish växt ("growth, development, size"), Icelandic vöxtur ("growth"), Gothic (wahstus, "growth"). Related to Old English weaxan ("to grow, increase"). More at wax.

Full definition of waist

Noun

1. The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.
2. A part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist.
3. The narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects (e.g., bees, ants and wasps).
4. The middle portion of the hull of a ship or the fuselage of an aircraft.
5. (nautical) That part of the upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
• 1851, Herman Melville, ,There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• Swati
• waits