stomachers

Noun

stomacher (plural stomachers)

1. (obsolete) A type of men's waistcoat.
2. (historical) An ornamental cloth, often embellished with embroidery or jewelry, worn over the chest by women beneath their bodices or by men and women as the central part of an open shirt, blouse, or jacket.
   • And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher [translating פְּתִיגִיל] a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 3:24
3. A similar item of mail worn over and protecting the stomach.
   • Over it he placed a chain mail stomacher. Then, atop all, he strapped on an item of shaped metal he called a tace. “There,”he said at last. “She might knock the windout of you, but she won't kill you.”2013 October 18, Eileen Gunn, Questionable Practices: Stories, Small Beer Press, →ISBN
4. A blow to the stomach.
   • Thomas resenting such ungenerous behaviour, bestowed such a stomacher upon the officious intermeddler, as discomposed the whole œconomy of his entrails, and obliged him to discharge the interjection ah! with demonstration of great anguish and amazement.1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC