gaiter meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

gaiter

noun

UK /ˈɡeɪ.tə/ · US /ˈɡeɪ.təɹ/

Etymology Borrowed from French guêtre, from Middle French guiestres, guestes pl, from Old French *gueste, from Frankish *wastiju, from Proto-Germanic *wastijō (“garment; dress”). Cognate with Middle High German wester (“a child's chrisom-cloth”), Middle High German westebarn (“godchild”), Old English wæstling (“a coverlet”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌹 (wasti, “garment; dress”).

1

A covering of cloth or leather for the ankle and instep.

2

A covering cloth or leather for the whole leg from the knee to the instep, fitting down upon the shoe.

Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

3

A neck gaiter.

[He] stood and pulled up the gaiter around his neck to mask his mouth and nose. “People are careful around here, so you'll want to put your mask on,” she told Perry.2022 June 14, D. Jackson Leigh, Forever Comes in Threes, Bold Strokes Books Inc, →ISBN:

4

A part of the ecclesiastical garb of a bishop.

5

Automotive, Transport, Vehicles A protective flexible sleeve covering a moving part, intended to keep the part clean.

Derived terms: gaiterless, gaiterlike, neck gaiter, supergaiter
Related terms: spat

gaiter

verb

Etymology Borrowed from French guêtre, from Middle French guiestres, guestes pl, from Old French *gueste, from Frankish *wastiju, from Proto-Germanic *wastijō (“garment; dress”). Cognate with Middle High German wester (“a child's chrisom-cloth”), Middle High German westebarn (“godchild”), Old English wæstling (“a coverlet”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌹 (wasti, “garment; dress”).

1

To dress with gaiters.

gaiter

noun

Etymology From Middle English gaytre, from Old English gāte-trēow (“the common dogwood”), equivalent to gāt (“goat”) + trēow (“tree”).

1

Dialectal, Obsolete The dogwood, or a similar shrub.