waist
/weɪst/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.96 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist.
noun
The narrow connection between the thorax and abdomen in certain insects (e.g., bees, ants and wasps).
noun
That part of the upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
noun
The middle part of anything.
Example Sentences
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English wast (“waist”), probably from Old English *wæst, *wǣst, *weaxt, *wæhst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz (“growth, development, stature, build”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks- (“to multiply, increase”). Cognate with Middle English wacste (“growth, increase, might, power”), Middle High German wahst (“growth”), Danish vækst (“growth”), Swedish växt (“growth, development, size”), Icelandic vöxtur (“growth”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐍄𐌿𐍃 (wahstus, “growth”). Related to Old English weaxan (“to grow, increase”). More at wax.