waist

B2 Topic:The Human Body

US /weɪst/ See IPA manual

Homophones

waste /ˈweɪst/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like west /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #6983

Meanings

1

noun
The narrow part of the body between the ribs and the hips.

She tied a belt around her waist.
2

noun
The part of a piece of clothing that fits around this part of the body.

These trousers are too tight at the waist.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the narrow part of the body... waistline

Word family

Forms waists

Derived forms empire-waistpantywaistsheer-to-waistshirt-waistshirtwaistwaist-deepwaist-highwaistband waistcoatwaistlesswaistline

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

wasp waist
an exceptionally narrow waist compared with the chest and hips

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Waist entered English in the late Middle English period and may share its root with Old English weaxan “grow, increase,” perhaps through an association with childbirth. The connection is uncertain.

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 *h₂weg-s- (“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.

*h₂weg- Proto-Indo-European wast Middle English *wæst Old English *wahstu Proto-West Germanic *wahstuz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# waist

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /weɪst/
**Frequency rank:** 6983

## Meanings
1. The narrow part of the body between the ribs and the hips.
2. The part of a piece of clothing that fits around this part of the body.

## Examples
- She tied a belt around her waist.
- These trousers are too tight at the waist.

## Derived Forms
- empire-waist
- pantywaist
- sheer-to-waist
- shirt-waist
- shirtwaist
- waist-deep
- waist-high
- waistband
- waistcoat
- waistless
- waistline

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂weg-
- Root: wast
- Root: *wæst
- Root: *wahstu
- Root: *wahstuz

## 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 *h₂weg-s- (“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.

## AI Etymology
Waist is 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 *h₂weg-s- (“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. In present-day use, it can mean the narrow part of the body between the ribs and the hips, or the part of a piece of clothing that fits around this part of the body.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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