Interesting... And here I was tending to make the distinction that a "vest" was either a lightweight sleeveless garment typically high-visibility for safety, or a heavy-weight sleeveless garment to keep the torso warm, while the similar sleeveless garment for elegance or formality was a waistcoat. Probably is (thanks in part to you, and I think rightly) in part due to the usage here on the forum.crfriend wrote:Here we need to be really careful as the term is used quite differently even in various English-speaking cultures. For instance, "vest" in US English describes a formal or semi-formal sleeveless garment. That's a "waistcoat" in UK English (and, as a bit of an obsolete usage in US English) -- for the Brits, a "vest" is what Yanks would know as a "wifebeater" (an unfortunate term, but I'm sure it's that for a reason). This is why I use the older term "waistcoat" in my posts to describe some of my kit -- I don't want that confusion. Yes, it can make me sound pompous (as in "pompous ass"), but I'm willing to pay that price to get the clarity.
Yes, I have often thought that spending some time studying the rootstock languages of English would be fun (especially in a greater understanding of modern English), but haven't actually taken the time to do so.