waist

English

/weɪst/

noun
Definitions
  • The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach.
  • A part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist.
  • The narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects (e.g., bees, ants and wasps).
  • The middle portion of the hull of a ship or the fuselage of an aircraft.
  • (nautical) That part of the upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
  • (obsolete) The middle part of anything.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English waste (a waste, waste) derived from Old English *wǣst derived from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (development, stature, build, growth) derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weg-s-, *h₂weg- (increase, multiply).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*h₂weg-s-, *h₂weg-

Gloss

increase, multiply

Concept
Semantic Field

Basic actions and technology

Ontological Category

Action/Process

Kanji

殖

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms