Tuxedo Park
/tʌkˈsiːdoʊ pɑːrk/noun
Tuxedo Park is a planned residential community in Orange County, New York, and the place-name associated with the modern word tuxedo.
Did you know?The dinner jacket became known as a tuxedo after wealthy New Yorkers wore a short evening coat at the exclusive Tuxedo Park Club in the 1880s.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-19th Century
Lenape
p’tuck-sepo / tuk-sepo (proposed)
“A disputed Indigenous place-name traditionally interpreted as “crooked river” or “crooked water.””
18th Century
English
Tuxedo
“An English rendering of the name for the lake and surrounding area in present-day Orange County, New York.”
1885
English
Tuxedo Park
“Name of a private resort and planned community developed around Tuxedo Lake in New York.”
1886
English
tuxedo
“A short evening jacket worn by men at the Tuxedo Park Club; the place-name begins shifting into a clothing term.”
Early 20th Century
American English
tuxedo
“A formal evening suit, especially in North American usage.”
Modern English
English
tuxedo
“A formal men’s suit consisting typically of a dinner jacket, trousers, and related eveningwear.”