What does "waist" mean?

Waist: Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially (Naut.), that part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc., which is between the quarter-deck and the forecastle; the middle part of the ship.

Additional senses

  1. 2.A garment, or part of a garment, which covers the body from the neck or shoulders to the waist line.
  2. 3.A girdle or belt for the waist. [Obs.] Shak. Waist anchor. See Sheet anchor, 1, in the Vocabulary.

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