small compartment in clothing where minor objects can be carried inside
A pocket is a small bag- or envelope-shaped compartment that is either sewn into or attached to clothing, designed for carrying small items. Pockets are also found on luggage, backpacks, and similar containers. Historically, the term could also refer to a separate pouch or small bag.
Origins
Ancient civilizations used leather or cloth pouches to store valuables. The Copper Age mummy known as Ötzi (also called the "Iceman"), who lived around 3,300 BCE, wore a belt with a sewn-on pouch containing tools and materials such as a scraper, drill, flint flake, bone awl, and dried tinder fungus.
In medieval Europe, early pocket-like openings called fitchets appeared in the 13th century. These vertical slits, cut into the outer tunic, allowed access to a purse or keys suspended from the girdle beneath. Historian Rebecca Unsworth notes that pockets became more visible in the late 15th century, and their use spread widely in the 16th century.
Later, pockets were often worn like purses on a belt, concealed under a coat or jerkin to deter pickpocketing, with access through a slit in the outer garment.
By the 17th century, pockets were sewn into men's clothing, while women's remained as separate tie-on pouches hidden beneath skirts.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pocket” is small compartment in clothing where minor objects can be carried inside. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Pocket, small and compartment, not as a finished interpretation.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q321767. The Library of Congress control number is sh85103657. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pocket” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.