matchcoat † < Algonk.; cf. Ojibwa manchikÅten skirt Obs. DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN OUTDATED INFORMATION, TERMS and EXAMPLES
n.
See 1907 quote.
- First recorded in John Smith, Works, 1607-9, as matchcore, apparently from Powhatan, an Algonkian language of E. Virginia, with reference to a short fur mantle, this word evolved by folk etymology into matchcoat, which is cited by the Dictionary of Americanisms from 1638. The term appears to have been applied to various garments of several materials from place to place, the early Canadian references being to a kind of woman's petticoat worn among the Ojibwas.