petticoat

Definitions

• (historical) A tight, usually padded undercoat worn by men over a shirt and under the doublet.
• (historical) A woman's undercoat, worn to be displayed beneath an open gown.
• (historical) A fisherman's loose canvas or oilcloth skirt.
• (archaic) A type of ornamental skirt or underskirt, often displayed below a dress; chiefly in plural, designating a woman's skirts collectively.
• 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.
• (slang) A woman.
• (historical) A bell-mouthed piece over the exhaust nozzles in the smokebox of a locomotive, strengthening and equalising the draught through the boiler-tubes.