English · Idiom Historical

patent coats

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

The first coat, with the pockets inside the skirt, were so termed.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

loại áo choàng đầu tiên có túi bên trong váy

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “patent coats” mean?

The first coat, with the pockets inside the skirt, were so termed.

Is “patent coats” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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