A vest is a sleeveless garment covering the upper body. The term has different meanings around the world.
The term vest derives from French veste "jacket, sport coat", Italian veste "robe, gown" and Latin vestis. The sleeveless garment worn by men beneath a coat may have been first popularised by King Charles II of England, since a diary entry by Pepys (October 8, 1666) records that "[t]he King hath yesterday, in Council, declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes.... It will be a vest, I know not well how; but it is to teach the nobility thrift."