# petticoat

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɛt.ɪ.kəʊt/ · frequency rank #45,582

## Definitions
1. A tight, usually padded undercoat worn by women over a shirt and under the doublet.
2. A woman's undercoat, worn to be displayed beneath an open gown.
3. A fisherman's loose canvas or oilcloth skirt.
4. A type of ornamental skirt or underskirt, often displayed below a dress; chiefly in plural, designating a woman's skirts collectively.
5. A light woman's undergarment worn under a dress or skirt, and hanging either from the shoulders or (now especially) from the waist; a kind of slip, worn to make the skirt fuller, or for extra warmth.
6. A woman.
7. A bell-mouthed piece over the exhaust nozzles in the smokebox of a locomotive, strengthening and equalising the draught through the boiler-tubes.

## Etymology
From Middle English petticote, petycote, peticote, petite cote, equivalent to petty + coat.

## Common misspellings (11)
`eptticoat`, `peticoat`, `petitcoat`, `pettcioat`, `petticaot`, `petticcoat`, `petticoatt`, `petticota`, `pettiocat`, `ppetticoat`, `pteticoat`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/petticoat