closet |
coat |
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article): build design house wall provide size construction common space water |
top 10 words in brain distribution (in article): century type world term refer begin design word modern british |
top 10 words in brain distribution (not in article): city material wood power station store type line structure paint |
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times more probable under closet 30 20 10 6 4 2.5 1.25 1 1.25 2.5 4 6 10 20 30 times more probable under coat (words not in the model) | |
A closet'" (especially in North American usage) is a small and enclosed space, a cabinet, or a cupboard in a house or building used for general storage or hanging clothes. A closet for food storage is usually referred to as a "pantry". A closet, through French from Latin "clausum", "closed" began life in the seventeenth century as a small private room, often behind a bedroom, to which a man or woman could retire, for privacy, reading, or enjoyment of personal works of art: for this usage, see Cabinet (architecture). Modern closets can be built into the walls of the house during construction so that they take up no apparent space in the bedroom, or they can be a large, free-standing piece of furniture designed for clothes storage, in which case they are often called a wardrobe or armoire. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused. In current British usage, a "wardrobe" can also be built-in, and the word "cupboard" can be used to refer to a closet. In Elizabethan and Middle English, "closet" referred to a larger room in which a person could sit and read in private, but now refers to a small room in general. In Indian usage, a closet often refers to a toilet. This probably originated from the word "water closet", which refers to a flush toilet. In North America, chests, trunks and wall-mounted pegs typically provided storage prior to World War II. Built-in wall closets were uncommon and where they did exist, they tended to be small and shallow. Following World War II, however, deeper, more generously sized closets were introduced to new housing designs, which proved to be very attractive to buyers. It has even been suggested that the closet was a major factor in peoples' migration to the suburbs. Closet tax question in colonial America. Though some sources claim that colonial American houses often lacked closets because of a "closet tax" imposed by the British crown, others argue that closets were absent in most houses simply because their residents had few possessions. Closets in pop culture. Figuratively, a closet is a place where one hides things; "having skeletons in one's closet" is a figure of speech for having particularly sensitive secrets. Thus, "closet" as an adjective means "secret"—usually with a connotation of vice or shame, as in "a closet alcoholic" or "a closet homosexual," though sometimes used as a humorous exaggeration for any potential embarrassment, as in "a closet comic book fan." To "come out of the closet" is to admit your secrets publicly, but this is now used almost exclusively in reference to homosexuality. The documentary "The Celluloid Closet" uses this reference to gay people in its examination of how Hollywood films have depicted homosexuals on the screen. This is also extensively used in a controversial episode of "South Park". Psychologically, bedroom closets are the center of many childhood fears. Children fear during the night that a monster or any other paranormal creature hides inside the closet, and is destined to frighten the child. The Bogeyman is one prominent example. This is a common theme in films. In the first of the "Poltergeist" movies, the closet was the area of the family house the ghosts hid in to kidnap the child. And the "monster in the closet" fear was developed for comedic possibilities in film "Monsters, Inc.", in which monsters teleport into children's closets at night from a central location in order to scare them as a means of collecting screams, which run the monster economy. In the newspaper comic "Bloom County", the character Binkley had an "anxiety closet" in his bedroom, from which his fears would manifest themselves, while he was sleeping. For example, a librarian wielding a battle-axe, which then struck the headboard of his bed, attacked due to an overdue library book. Similarly, Opus the penguin from the Sunday strip Opus also has a closet which houses his worries. | A coat'" is a long garment worn by both men and women, for warmth, protection or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and open down the front, closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a belt, or a combination of these. Other possible ornaments include collars and shoulder straps. History of the word 'coat'. The Persians, based in what is now Iran, introduced two garments to the history of clothing: trousers and seamed fitted coats. "Coat" is one of the earliest clothing category words in English, attested as far back as the early Middle Ages. ("See also" Clothing terminology.) An early use of "coat" in English is coat of mail (chainmail), a tunic-like garment of metal rings, usually knee- or mid-calf length. The medieval and renaissance coat (generally spelled "cote" by costume historians) is a midlength, sleeved men's outer garment, fitted to the waist and buttoned up the front, with a full skirt: in its essentials, not unlike the modern coat. By the eighteenth century, overcoats had begun to supplant capes and cloaks as outer wear, and by the mid-twentieth century the terms "jacket" and "coat" became confused for recent styles; the difference in use is still maintained for older garments. Coats, Jackets and Overcoats. In the early nineteenth century, coats were divided into under-coats and overcoats. The term under-coat is now archaic but denoted the fact that the expression "coat" could be both the outermost layer for outdoor wear (overcoat) or the coat worn under that (under-coat). However, the term "coat" is increasingly beginning to denote just the overcoat rather than the under-coat. The older usage of the word "coat" can still be found in the expression "to wear a coat and tie", which does not mean that wearer has on an overcoat. Nor do the terms "tailcoat" or "morning coat" denote types of overcoat. Indeed, an overcoat may be worn over the top of a tailcoat. In tailoring circles, the tailor who makes all types of coats is called a "coat maker". Similarly, in both British and American English, the term "sports coat" is used to denote a type of jacket not worn as outerwear (overcoat). The term "jacket" is a traditional term usually used to refer to a specific type of short under-coat. Typical modern jackets extend only to the upper thigh in length, whereas older coats such as tailcoats are usually of knee length. The modern jacket worn with a suit is traditionally called a "lounge coat" (or a "lounge jacket") in British English and a "sack coat" in American English. The American English term is rarely used today. Traditionally, all men dressed in a "coat and tie", although this has become gradually less widespread since around the 1960s. Because the basic pattern for the stroller (black jacket worn with striped trousers in British English) and dinner jacket (tuxedo in American English) are the same as lounge coats, tailors traditionally call both of these special types of jackets a "coat". An overcoat is a long coat (at least mid-calf) designed to be worn as the outermost garment worn as outdoor wear; while this use is still maintained in some places, particularly in Britain, elsewhere the term "coat" is commonly used mainly denote only the overcoat, and not the under-coat. A "topcoat" is a slightly shorter overcoat, if any distinction is to be made. Overcoats worn over the top of knee length coats (under-coats) such as frock coats, dress coats, and morning coats are cut to be a little longer than the under-coat so as to completely cover it, as well as being large enough to accommodate the coat underneath. Coats of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of these styles are still worn. Note that for this period, only coats of the under-coat variety are listed, and overcoats are excluded. Modern coats. The terms "coat" and "jacket" are used variously around the world, and we treat modern clothes as jackets. References. General: Picken, Mary Brooks: "The Fashion Dictionary", Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition ISBN 0-308-10052-2) |