Tuxedo

Tuxedo
   A man attending a formal affair today may wear a tuxedo and a black tie or a full-dress coat and a white tie. At one time, however, only the latter style was acceptable; the tailless formal jacket was unknown until the 1800s.
   The Algonquian word for wolf is p'tukit (pronounced with a silent p) and means "the animal with a round foot." From that Indian word a lake about forty miles from New York City came to be known as Tuxedo Lake, a rather good phoneticism. Much of the area surrounding the lake was purchased by Pierre Lorillard, the tobacco heir, and subsequently a fashionable and exclusive resort and residential community was developed called Tuxedo Park.
   At one lavish affair, perhaps given by the Astors or the Harrimans, a brave aristocrat who disliked the formal "soup and fish" full evening clothes rebelled and wore a tailless jacket. The innovation was startling, but the shortened jacket became an immediate success. The new style was dubbed tuxedo after the name of the place where the garment was first worn. Today many men who appear before a clergyman ready to take his marital vows are dressed in that "wolf's clothing."

Dictionary of eponyms. . 2013.

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  • Tuxedo — ist der Name folgender Orte: Tuxedo (New York), Ort im Bundesstaat New York, USA Tuxedo (Texas), Stadt im Bundesstaat Texas, USA Tuxedo (Winnipeg), Vorort Winnipegs in Manitoba, Kanada Tuxedo bezeichnet Tuxedo (Informatik), Transaktionsmonitor… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • tuxedo — man s evening dress for semiformal occasions, 1889, named for Tuxedo Park, N.Y., site of a country club where it first was worn in 1886. The name is an attractive subject for elaborate speculation, e.g.: The Wolf tribe in New York was called in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Tuxedo — Tux*e do, Tuxedo coat Tux*e do coat , n. 1. A kind of black jacket for semiformal evening dress made without tails, usually of black or dark blue color and having satin or grosgrain facing on the lapels; so named after a fashionable country club… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tuxedo — ☆ tuxedo [tuk sē′dō ] n. pl. tuxedos [after the name of a country club at Tuxedo Park, near Tuxedo Lake, N.Y.] 1. Now Rare a man s semiformal jacket for evening wear, orig. black and with satin lapels; dinner jacket 2. a suit of such a jacket and …   English World dictionary

  • tuxedo — ► NOUN (pl. tuxedos or tuxedoes) chiefly N. Amer. 1) a man s dinner jacket. 2) a formal evening suit including such a jacket. DERIVATIVES tuxedoed adjective. ORIGIN from Tuxedo Park, the site of a country club in New York …   English terms dictionary

  • tuxedo — [tʌkˈsiːdəʊ] or tux [tʌks] noun [C] a dinner jacket …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • Tuxedo — This article is about the formal suit specifically. For a discussion of its accessories and etiquette, see Black Tie. For other uses, see Tuxedo (disambiguation). Four men in tuxedos (note that the two in the center wear shawl collars while those …   Wikipedia

  • Tuxedo — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Le terme Tuxedo peut faire référence à: Tuxedo un type de smoking Tuxedo, un logiciel informatique Tuxedo, une circonscription électorale du Manitoba… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tuxedo — La palabra Tuxedo puede referirse a: La población de Tuxedo Park, en el estado de New Jersey (EEUU). Tuxedo, la denominación que recibe el esmoquin en slang. Tuxedo Junction, un tema de jazz. Tuxedo, el acrónimo de un programa informático. Tuxido …   Wikipedia Español

  • tuxedo — /tʌkˈsidoʊ / (say tuk seedoh) noun (plural tuxedos) 1. a dinner jacket. 2. Also, tuxedo suit. a men s formal suit comprising such a jacket, sometimes including vest, cummerbund, bow tie and shirt; dinner suit. {shortened form of Tuxedo coat,… …  

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