A Petticoat!!??

[Riverkilt]

With the solid/tartan kilt poll I wound up digging out my OLD dictionary.

Back in 1962 my late aunt Virginia Macdonald gave me a 1961 copy of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. At that time the Periodic Table in the dictionary only went up to 92 Uranium.

The word kilt is described as "A type of short plaited petticoat worn in the Highlands of Scotland by men; hence any similar garment.

I was also surprised to see Kiltie, Kilty, "One who wers a kilt, specifically a regimental kilt."

Anyhow...being curious to see why they described a kilt as a type of petticoat I looked up petticoat, "1.A skirt worn by women, girls, or young children, especially now an underskirt. 2. The garment that betokens womanhood; hence a woman or girl. 3. Something suggestive of a woman's skirt, as a valance for a table. 4. womanlike, womanish, pertaining to, exercised by, or wielded by women; as petticoat government."

Jeez Louise...maybe all them insults from smart guys are actually correct.

Curious how they can use the word petticoat to describe a man's kilt then not mention it under petticoat.

Visions of, "Hey dude, why are you wearing a skirt?" "Its not a skirt, its a petticoat!"

It is a U.S. published dictionary. But hey, we've come a long way in the last 46 years.

Ron
Feeling a little bit frillier and in touch with my feminine side when kilted...

[Fearnest]

Oh, WEBSTER'S... VERY nice...

Being around in the 60s, I'm surprised you don't use "Funk & Wagnall's" exclusively... (Hoooo! Have I just dated my TV viewing memories...)





(At least I didn't go HERE

[davedove]

(At least I didn't go HERE

I don't know. I always wanted to go there.

[GMan]

The times they are a changin'

[Mr. MacDougall]

The times they are a changin'

The language, too.

[starbkjrus]

I don't know. I always wanted to go there.

Yup. Me too.

[Fearnest]

I don't know. I always wanted to go there.

I'll admit it - me too...

[corbinj]

Davedove, I did go there, and the girls were all real nice...the dog though was a real foul b. just kidding.. did you all notice that a kilt, is a kilt, in all the scandi languages except icelandic? neat.

[Pleater]

I am just reading Pepys diaries, and during the early 1660s the men wore petticoat britches, which were - as far as I can work out, two knee length straight tubes joined together with a U shape for the body to fit into. I'm not sure what happened at the top - gathered onto a band or with a casing and tape maybe. How they untrussed is a bit of a mystery.

An aquaintance of Pepys tells him how he had accidentally put both legs into the same half of his britches when dressing and never noticed all day.

There is a portrait of the King in petticoat britches, loads of lace and silk.

For the 27th July 1665 - (by which time the fashion is for closed knee britches), he writes

But it was pretty to see the young pretty ladies dressed like men; in velvet coats, caps with ribbands and with laced (neck)bands just like men.

Hmmmm

[LordKiltClad]

kilt [kilt] noun
an item of Scottish national dress, a pleated tartan skirt reaching to the knees and traditionally worn by men
Arabic: كِلْتِيَّه: تَنّورَة يَرتَديها الرِّجال الأسكتلنديون
Chinese (Simplified): 苏格兰方格呢短裙
Chinese (Traditional): 蘇格蘭方格呢短裙
Czech: skotská sukně, kilt
Danish: kilt
Dutch: Schotse rok
Estonian: ðoti seelik
Finnish: kiltti
French: kilt
German: der Kilt
Greek: κιλτ (σκοτσέζικη φούστα)
Hungarian: skót szoknya
Icelandic: skotapils
Indonesian: pakaian adat Skot
Italian: kilt, (gonnellino scozzese)

Japanese: キルト
Korean: 킬트
Latvian: (skota tautastērpa) svārciņi
Lithuanian: kiltas, škotų sijonėlis
Norwegian: kilt, skotteskjørt
Polish: spódniczka szkocka
Portuguese (Brazil): kilt, saiote escocês
Portuguese (Portugal): saiote escocês
Romanian: kilt
Russian: шотландская юбка
Slovak: kilt
Slovenian: kilt
Spanish: falda escocesa
Swedish: kilt
Turkish: İskoç etekliği