Pocket 416041 223644288 2008-07-05T01:31:33Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{otheruses}} [[Image:Tacuinum Sanitatis-threshing.jpg|thumb|Pockets hang from belts as 15th-century peasants thresh [[Wheat|siligo wheat]] in a ''[[Tacuinum Sanitatis]]'']] A '''pocket''' is a small [[bag]] to hold small and important items, particularly a bag-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of [[clothing]]. In European clothing pockets began by being hung like [[purse]]s from a belt, which could be concealed beneath a coat or jerkin and reached through a slit in the outer garment. The word appears in [[Middle English]] as ''poket'', and is taken from a [[Norman language|Norman]] diminutive of O. Fr. ''poke'', ''pouque'', mod. ''poche'', cf. [[pouch]]. The form "poke" is now only used dialectically, or in such proverbial sayings as "a pig in a poke," and possibly in the [[poke-bonnet]], the coal-scuttle bonnet fashionable during the first part of the 19th century, and now worn by the female members of the [[Salvation Army]]. More probably the name of the bonnet is connected with ''poke'', to thrust forward, dig. The origin of this is obscure. [[Dutch language|Dutch]] has ''poken'', ''pook'', a [[dagger]]; [[Swedish language|Swedish]] has ''påk'', a stick. Historically, the term pocket referred to: * A pouch worn around the waist by women in the 17th to 19th centuries, mentioned in the rhyme ''[[Lucy Locket]]'' if interpreted literally.<ref>[http://www.spnea.org/NEHM/NEWWSpringPage04.htm Historic New England: Defining the Past. Shaping the Future<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> * A sack in which [[hops]] were stored, generally with a capacity of 168&ndash;224 lb (76&ndash;102 kg). A '''fob pocket''' is a small pocket designed to hold an old style [[pocket watch]], sometimes found in men's [[trousers]] and [[waistcoat]]s. ==References== <references/> *{{1911}} ==External links== * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A798159 BBC - h2g2 - A Very Brief History of the Pocket] * {{cite web |publisher= [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/fashion/pockets/index.html |title= Pockets |work=Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories |accessdate= 2007-08-12}} {{Clothing}} [[Category:Parts of clothing]] [[ar:جيب (ملابس)]] [[ca:Butxaca]] [[de:Tasche (Kleidung)]] [[es:Bolsillo]] [[eo:Poŝo]] [[fr:Poche (vêtement)]] [[id:Saku]] [[pl:Kieszeń]] [[ru:Карман]] [[simple:Pocket]] [[fi:Tasku]]