Waistlines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A defined area encircling the body at the midsection, often used in the context of clothing fit and style
2. The measurement around the narrowest part of the torso, typically corresponding to the waist for fashion purposes
3. The circumferential line that marks the boundary of the waist, significant in tailoring and body shape discussions

Etymology: "Waistlines" is simply the plural of "waistline," so it refers to more than one such line, as when comparing the measurements of several garments or several people. The noun is a plain compound of "waist" and "line," with no hidden history beyond the two parts. "Waist" goes back to the Old English "wǣst," which meant something like the growth or size of a body, and it is related to the Old English verb for growing. Over time it narrowed to the middle part of the body, the section between the ribs and the hips. "Line" is older and far more flexible: it came into Old English from Latin "linea," a thread or string made of flax, which is why the word for a drawn stroke still carries the image of a thread stretched taut. Joined together, the two words describe an imagined thread running around the narrowest part of the torso. The compound is a practical descriptive coinage, which explains why it sounds so much like the tape measure it names.

Synonyms: midsections, belts, waists