1.
overcoat; cloak; topcoat; outer garment
A heavy outer garment worn over other clothing for warmth. A somewhat literary or old-fashioned word, now largely replaced by コート in everyday speech.
外套を羽織る。
To throw on an overcoat.
寒さに耐えかねて外套の襟を立てた。
Unable to bear the cold, he turned up the collar of his overcoat.
玄関に掛けてあった黒い外套を手に取り、夜の街へ出た。
He picked up the black overcoat hanging in the entryway and went out into the night streets.
A literary compound of 外 (outer) + 套 (covering/sheath). More commonly encountered in literature, period dramas, and historical writing than in everyday conversation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 外套を着る: to wear an overcoat
- 外套を脱ぐ: to take off an overcoat
- 外套を羽織る: to throw on an overcoat
- 軍用外套: military overcoat
SIMILAR WORDS:
- コート: coat — the standard modern word for coats and overcoats
- オーバー: overcoat — older loanword (from 'overcoat'), still used by older speakers
- マント: mantle, cape — a cloak-style outer garment
LITERARY NOTE:
外套 is the Japanese title of Gogol's famous short story "The Overcoat." The word evokes a literary, atmospheric quality.