What does petticoat mean?
Word: Petticoat
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Petticoat means a thin skirt worn under a skirt, dress or sari.
How do you spell petticoat?
Syllables: pet - ti - coat
Tricky part: The t is doubled in the middle. With a single t the first part would not keep its short e sound.
Watch out for: peticoat, petycoat
Memory tip: Imagine two tall pegs on a washing line, each holding up one side of the garment. Those are the two t's in the middle.
Petticoat in a sentence
Example 1: The tailor stitched a cotton petticoat to go with the new silk sari.
Example 2: Her skirt was so thin that she wore a petticoat under it.
Example 3: In the old photograph, my great-grandmother's petticoat shows just below her dress.
Fun Fact
The name once meant a small jacket, and long ago men wore one too.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
tocetpiat
a) waistcoat
b) petticoat
c) tracksuit
d) pinafore
Show answer
b) petticoat. Three t's are hiding in the jumble, and no other option has that many.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Riya wore a white pettikoat under her costume for the school play.
a) costume
b) white
c) play
d) pettikoat
Show answer
d) pettikoat. The k sound before the oa is made by a c here, as in cat.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
petticoaat
a) o
b) e
c) a
d) c
Show answer
c) a. The vowel pair in the last part has one o and one a, as in boat.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) trowsers
b) cardigen
c) petticoat
d) dungerees
Show answer
c) petticoat. Cardigan ends in gan, trousers has ou, and dungarees has an a after the g.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. At which shop are you most likely to buy a petticoat?
a) a hardware shop
b) a fruit and vegetable shop
c) a stationery shop
d) a sari and dress shop
Show answer
d) a sari and dress shop
2. Who is more likely to need a petticoat today?
a) a boy putting on cricket pads
b) a swimmer before a pool race
c) a bride dressing in a silk sari
d) a pilot zipping up a flying suit
Show answer
c) a bride dressing in a silk sari
