Pocket

For other uses, see Pocket (disambiguation).

Pockets hang from belts as 15th-century peasants thresh siligo wheat in a Tacuinum Sanitatis

A pocket is a small bag, particularly a bag-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing. Cargo pants have pockets with an extra large capacity.

In European clothing pockets began by being hung like purses from a belt, which could be secreted beneat a coat or jerkin and reached through a slit in the outer garment.

The word appears in Middle English as poket, and is taken from a Norman diminutive of O. Fr. poke, pouque, mod. poche, cf. pouch. The form "poke" is now only used dialectically, or in such proverbial sayings as "a pig in a poke," and possibly in the poke-bonnet, the coal-scuttle bonnet fashionable during the first part of the 19th century, and now worn by the female members of the Salvation Army. More probably the name of the bonnet is connected with poke, to thrust forward, dig. The origin of this is obscure. Dutch has poken, pook, a dagger; Swedish has påk, a stick.

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Contents of a modern pocket

Historically, the term pocket referred to:

• A pouch worn around the waist by women in the 17th to 19th centuries, mentioned in the rhyme Lucy Locket if interpreted literally.
• A sack in which hops were stored, generally with a capacity of 168–224 lb (76–102 kg).

A fob pocket is a small pocket designed to hold an old style pocket watch, sometimes found in men's trousers and waistcoats.

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• BBC - h2g2 - A Very Brief History of the Pocket
• "Pockets". Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 2007-08-12.