I had always thought a vest implied a sleeveless garment of clothing, but I find several instances of the phrase "sleeveless vest." Isn't that redundant and is there any reputable, somewhat definitive resource that supports this view (or at least discusses the usage of it)?
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5What we AmEs call a vest, BrEs call a waistcoat. What BrEs call a vest, we AmEs call an undershirt. So if a BrE speaker describes something as a sleeveless vest, we AmEs might call that a wife-beater (or, more technically, an "A shirt").– Dan BronCommented Aug 28, 2015 at 19:20
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1Please say whether you want to know about British or American English.– chasly - supports MonicaCommented Aug 28, 2015 at 19:30
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2@DanBron Calling slim-shouldered sleeveless t-shirts wife-beaters — rather than tank-tops or singlets — might come off as urban ghetto jargon. That may be good or it may be bad: it all depends what one is trying to convey or imply. I have yet to see such a label on the packaging for underwear sold in pedestrian department stores to a broad audience.– tchrist ♦Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 20:21
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3@DanBron Honestly, that it might be sex-linked for some speakers never occurred to me, since in the western Great Lakes region (MN, WI, MI, IL), tank-top is the normal word for it no matter the gender wearing it. I think the term is in broader usage than that, since it is also usedout West. On the other hand, singlet is common in Canada, such as in Vancouver for example.– tchrist ♦Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 20:40
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2@Hugh I did do a search of images for several different combinations of words that might lead me to images of sleeved vests, but what few were produced from those searches were hardly what I would consider a vest. Nevertheless, I can envision in my mind what a vest with sleeves might look like, but when I see a definition that reads "a sleeveless, close-fitting waist-length garment worn over a shirt, typically having no collar and buttoning down the front" in more than one dictionary, I just have to wonder how the disconnect between definition and usage came about.– Lisa BeckCommented Aug 29, 2015 at 8:14
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1 Answer
In Italy we normally wear a "canottiera" (white and sleeveless)(which I call "cannottiera", as we do in Tuscany and I think also around Rome), or a "maglietta della pelle" (simple white t shirt, with short sleeves). They are both "vests" in English (Free Dictionary Online:vest1 [vɛst] n (Brit) (with sleeves) → maglia intima; (sleeveless) → canottiera). Something similar is done in other Countries and that is one reason why sometimes you must use the words "sleeveless vest" to better explain the garment you are looking for (Canottiera o similar).
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Thank you for your addition, alsa. I do see now that a dictionary reference includes the British meaning -- an undershirt. I hadn't seen that elsewhere and now some of the other comments made in this thread make much more sense. As a speaker of American English, I think I'm going to go with "vest" for something without sleeves and avoid the compulsion to translate word-for-word/literally. Sometimes it is best to keep it simple. Nevertheless, I appreciate all the contributions to this question. If I'm ever outside the US, I'll know that a "vest" might not be what I think it is. Commented Nov 8, 2015 at 21:12