Wasp-Waisted
/ˈwɒspˌweɪstɪd/noun
Having an unusually narrow waist, especially in comparison with the chest and hips.
Did you know?The expression evokes the wasp’s narrow petiole—the constricted segment between its thorax and abdomen—and became especially prominent in descriptions of corseted Victorian and early twentieth-century silhouettes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wopsā
“A wasp or stinging insect; the reconstructed ancestor of Germanic and Latin wasp-words.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vespa
“Wasp.”
Old English
Old English
wæfs
“Wasp; the spelling reflects the Germanic form that developed into modern wasp.”
Old English
Old English
wæst
“Growth, stature, or the body’s middle; the ancestor of waist.”
Middle English
Middle English
wasp / wast
“Wasp and waist, with waist referring to the body’s middle or girth.”
19th Century
English
wasp-waisted
“Describing a figure narrowed sharply at the waist, by comparison with a wasp’s constricted body.”
Modern English
English
wasp-waisted
“Having an extremely narrow waist, especially as an idealized or stylized bodily shape.”