shirttail

English

noun
Definitions
  • The single or split (then rather plural) bottom part of a shirt, below the waist, especially in the back, which, when not tucked into trousers or other vestment, hangs over the wearer's tail-end, like a tail.
  • (by extension) The tail-end or periphery of something.
  • A tenuous connection.
  • A distant kinship.
  • A small portion
  • Something small and unimportant.

Etymology

Compound from English shirt + English tail.

Origin

English

tail

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms