spencers

Noun

spencer (plural spencers)

1. (historical) A short double-breasted men's overcoat worn in the 18th and 19th centuries.
2. (historical) A short, close-fitting jacket primarily worn by women and children in the early 19th century.
   • In order to support and illustrate this assertion, I shall commence my remarks with the spencer, which has often been attacked by satyrical and cynical writers as an absurd and original dress.1799, D.D., “To the Editor”, in The Scots Magazine, volume 61, page 677
3. (historical) A (usually woollen) vest worn by women and girls for extra warmth.
   • I am seized with an angry resentment against the conventions of twenty years ago, which wrapped up my comely adolescent body in woollen combinations, black cashmere stockings, “liberty” bodice, dark stockinette knickers, flannel petticoat and often, in addition, a long-sleeved, high-necked, knitted...1933, Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth, Penguin, published 2005, page 34
4. A large loose-fitted gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque, used from the nineteenth century onwards.

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