waistcoateer

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “waistcoateer”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Etymology

waistcoat +‎ -eer

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌwɛskəˈtɪə(ɹ)/

Noun

waistcoateer (plural waistcoateers)

1. (obsolete) One wearing a waistcoat; especially, a woman wearing one uncovered, or thought fit for such a habit; hence, a loose woman; strumpet.
   • 1639, John Fletcher, Wit Without Money:

     Do you think you are here, sir, / Amongst your waistcoateers, your base wenches?

   • 1822, Sir Walter Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel:

     Thou knowest well that, from Mrs. Deputy's self down to the waistcoateers in the alley, all of them are twiring and peeping betwixt their fingers when you pass; and yet you call yourself a miserable dog!