[pet-ee-koht] 
| 1. | Also called pettiskirt. an underskirt, esp. one that is full and often trimmed and ruffled and of a decorative fabric. |
| 2. | any skirtlike part or covering. |
| 3. | a flounce or valance fitting around the sides of a bed, couch, or chair, as to conceal the legs. |
| 4. | Informal. a woman or girl. |
| 5. | of, pertaining to, or controlled by women; female; feminine: petticoat government. |
| pet·ti·coat (pět'ē-kōt') n.
[Middle English peticote : peti, small; see petty + cote, coat; see coat.] pet'ti·coat'ed adj. |
"Men declare that the petticoatless female has unsexed herself and has left her modesty behind." ["Godey's Magazine," April 1896]
petticoat
in modern usage, an underskirt worn by women. The petycote (probably derived from the Old French petite cote, "little coat") appeared in literature in the 15th century in reference to a kind of padded waistcoat, or undercoat, worn for warmth over the shirt by men. The petticoat developed as a piece of women's apparel-a skirt worn under an overgown-at the end of the Middle Ages. By the beginning of the 16th century, the overgown had an inverted V opening, and the petticoat, now visible, was brocaded or embroidered
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iˌkoʊt