Dictionary

pilot coat en · NOUN

Etymology

So called because it was worn by seamen or aviators.

Meanings

1. A pea coat or pilot jacket.
   • For some years past the favorite costume of the out-and-out young gentleman has been a rough pilot coat, with two gilt hooks and eyes to the velvet collar; buttons somewhat larger than crown-pieces; a black or fancy neckerchief, loosely tied; a wide-brimmed hat, with a low crown; tightish inexpressibles, and iron-shod boots. 1833-36, Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz, "The Out and Out Young Gentleman", in The Oxford Illustrated Dickens, p. 596
   • As he sat there with a sou'wester down over his ears, in a long pilot coat, his figure appeared in the misty morning air to assume quite supernatural proportions, and you might almost imagine that you had one of the old Vikings before you. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 181:
2. A type of thick coat, typically leather with fur or wool lining, used by aviators in aircraft without an enclosed cockpit or having an uninsulated cabin.

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