Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Waist"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Waist \Waist\, n. [OE. wast; originally, growth, akin to AS.
weaxan to grow; cf. AS. w[ae]stm growth. See {Wax} to grow.]
1. That part of the human body which is immediately below the
ribs or thorax; the small part of the body between the
thorax and hips. --Chaucer.
I am in the waist two yards about. --Shak.
2. Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially
(Naut.), that part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc.,
which is between the quarter-deck and the forecastle; the
middle part of the ship.
3. A garment, or part of a garment, which covers the body
from the neck or shoulders to the waist line.
4. A girdle or belt for the waist. [Obs.] --Shak.
{Waist anchor}. See {Sheet anchor}, 1, in the Vocabulary.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
waist
n 1: the narrowing of the body between the ribs and hips [syn: {waistline}]
2: the narrow part of the shoe connecting the heel and the wide
part of the sole [syn: {shank}]
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