PETTICOAT  , an underskirt, as

part of a woman's dress . Thi petticoat, i.e . " petty-coat " or small coat, was originally a shor garment for the upper part of the body worn under an outer dress; in the Promptorium parvulorum the Latin equivalent is tunicula . It was both a man's and a woman's garment, and war in the first case worn as a small coat under the doublet and by women apparently as a kind of chemise . It was however, early applied to the skirt worn by women hangin€ from the waist, whether as the principal lower garment or a: an underskirt . In the middle of the 17th century the wide breeches with heavy lace or embroidered ends worn by men were known as " petticoat breeches," a term alsc applied to the loose canvas or oilskin overalls worn by fishermen .