Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A man's suit popular during the early 1940s, characterized by full-legged, tight-cuffed trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and heavily padded, wide shoulders.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
outfit featuring a suit withbroad shoulders , a longcoat , andbaggy trousers thattaper to a tight fit at the ankles.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a flashy suit of extreme cut
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Probably from an alteration of suit.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Zoot may be a Caló slang pronunciation of suit, thus making the term a tautology and reduplication.
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Examples
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johnmperry commented on the word zoot suit
A suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed pegged trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by Hispanics, Italian Americans, African Americans, and Filipino Americans during the late 1930s and 1940s.
June 19, 2008
seanahan commented on the word zoot suit
zoot suit riot
June 19, 2008
arcadia commented on the word zoot suit
So THAT'S what a zoot suit is.
October 6, 2008
bilby commented on the word zoot suit
Briefly revived by David Bowie et al in the '70's.
October 6, 2008