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What is "monkey jacket"

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Monkey jacket

Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. Monkeys. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.]

  1. (Zo["o]l.)

    1. In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs.

    2. Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.

    3. Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons. Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups:

      1. Catarrhines, or Simid[ae]. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World.

      2. Platyrhines, or Cebid[ae]. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World.

      3. Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.

  2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a mischievous child.

    This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her.
    --Shak.

  3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.

  4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century. Monkey boat. (Naut.)

    1. A small boat used in docks.

    2. A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.

      Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel.
      --R. H. Dana, Jr.

      Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so called from the appearance of its gaping corolla.
      --Gray.

      Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast for the better display of signals at sea.

      Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by sailors.

      Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.

      Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]

      Monkey trick, a mischievous prank.
      --Saintsbury.

      Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin.

Wiktionary
monkey jacket

n. 1 (context dated English) A type of close-fit jacket worn by sailors 2 A semiformal lightweight jacket, usually made of nylon, with striped cuffs and neck, similar to an MA-1 flight jacket.

WordNet
monkey jacket

n. waist-length jacket tapering to a point at the back; worn by officers in the mess for formal dinners [syn: mess jacket, shell jacket]

Wikipedia
Monkey jacket

A monkey jacket is a waist length jacket tapering at the back to a point.

Historically monkey jackets were commonly worn by sailors.

Usage examples of "monkey jacket".

After thinking some time on the bed-side, I got up and took off my monkey jacket, and then stood in the middle of the room thinking.

Then she knelt beside her chest and wormed her way down to the bottom layers, from which she retrieved a pair of man's moleskin breeches, a flannel shirt and cravat, with a high-buttoned monkey jacket to go over them, and well-worn half boots.

Around your waist a worn and negligently polished pistol belt, and below it only a hand's breadth of goods, for the tanker's jacket was very short, which is why it was sometimes called a monkey jacket.

I reached for my monkey jacket and slipped it on, and then we went up on deck and got the covers off the main and mizzen.

The 240-pound Pablo arrived in three minutes, huffing slightly, the two bottom buttons of his monkey jacket unbuttoned because of his belly.

The men took a pew to the left and then a Presbyterian minister came in, followed by a young woman in a tweed skirt and a monkey jacket, a brown scarf tied over her head.

Formless music issued from behind its plush, while a boy in a monkey jacket flicked his hips on the heavier beats.

Wilson, who was an extremely active seaman, measuring about five feet three inches in height, of a robust habit, generally dressed himself in what he called a MONKEY JACKET, made of thick duffle cloth, with a pair of Dutchman's petticoat trousers, reaching only to his knees, where they were met with a pair of long water-tight boots.

He hadn't found a shirt for himself either, but the bellboy's gray monkey jacket he was wearing didn't require one.

The rest of his toilet was soon achieved, and he proudly marched out of the room, wrapped up in his great pilot monkey jacket, and sporting his harpoon like a marshal's baton.