(See First Series, pp. xlvi-li)
The late Professor York Powell explained to me, since the note on 'gare'
(First Series, p. 1) was written, that the word means exactly what is
meant by 'gore' in modern dressmaking. The antique skirt was made of
four pieces: two cut square, to form the front and the back; and two of
a triangular shape, to fill the space between, the apex of the triangle,
of course, being at the waist. Thus a knife that 'hangs low down' by a
person's 'gare,' simply means that the knife hung at the side and not in
front.