| a man's fitted coat, cut away over the hips and descending in a pair of tapering skirts behind, usually black and worn as part of full evening dress. |
| swallow-tailed coat n. See tailcoat. |
tail·coat  (tāl'kōt')  n. A man's black coat worn for formal daytime occasions and having a long rounded and split tail. Also called swallowtail, swallow-tailed coat. |
