Etymology Dictionary

WAIST,   the middle part of the human body, or of a ship.  (E.)   Spelt wast in Palsgrave.   M. E. wast, called waste of a mannys myddel or wast of the medyl in Prompt. Parv.   The dat. waste is in Gower, C. A. ii. 373, l. 13.   The right sense is 'growth,' hence the thick part or middle of the body, where the size of a man is developed; we find the spelling wacste (dat. case) with the sense of 'strength,' in O. Eng. Homilies, i. 77, l. 3.   It answers to an A. S. form wæst* or wæxt*, not found, though the nearly related wæstm, growth, also fruit, produce, is a very common word; see Grein, ii. 650.   Indeed, the A. S. wæstm became wastme, westme in later English, and it is by no means improbable that the mod. E. waist is really the same word, with loss of the latter syllable, which may have been mistaken for a mere inflection.   In Genesis and Exodus, 1910, Joseph is described as being 'brictest of waspene,' certainly miswritten (in the MS.) for 'brictest of wasteme,' i.e. fairest of form or shape, 'well-waisted.'—A. S. weaxan, to grow, to wax; whence A. S. wæst* like E. bla-st from A. S. bláwan, to blow, and A. S. wæstma like bló-stma (E. blossom) from blówan, to flourish.   See Wax (1).   So also Goth. wahstus, growth, increase, stature, from wahsjan, to grow; Icel. vöxtr, stature, also shape, from vaxa, to grow; Dan. væxt, Swed. växt, growth, size.   Der. wasit-band; waist-coat, spelt wast-coate in Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, b. i. s. 5, l. 106 from the end.