jerkin — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A type of men's garment popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: a close-fitting collarless jacket, with or without sleeves.

   Usage

   • Historical

   Examples

   [T]wenty yeomen, two and two, / In hosen black, and jerkins blue, / With falcons broider'd on each breast, / Attended on their lord's behest.

   [T]he people all wore hosen and shoon and smocks and jupes and jerkins and wimples.

2. A sleeveless jacket, usually leather; a long waistcoat.

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   A tall and very good-looking kid in a jerkin came out of the store and rode the coupé off around the corner and came back walking, his glistening black hair plastered with rain.

   I booked a room at the small hotel and deposited my luggage there. I bought myself strong boots, a pair of breeches, a jerkin, and a couple of shirts. Then I turned my back upon the town and climbed.

Noun

1. a tight sleeveless and collarless jacket (often made of leather) worn by men in former times

   Broader terms

   jacket