trousers

trousers
trouserless, adj.
/trow"zeuhrz/, n. (used with a pl. v.)
1. Sometimes, trouser. Also called pants. a usually loose-fitting outer garment for the lower part of the body, having individual leg portions that reach typically to the ankle but sometimes to any of various other points from the upper leg down. Cf. Bermuda shorts, breeches, knickers (def. 1), short (def. 37a), slacks.
2. pantalets.
[1585-95; trouse (var. of TREWS) + (DRAW)ERS]

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also spelled  trowsers,  also called  pants  or  slacks 
 an outer garment covering the lower half of the body from the waist to the ankles and divided into sections to cover each leg separately. In attempting to define trousers, historians often explain that if any portion of a garment passed between the legs, it was an ancestor of this garment. Thus defined, trousers can be traced to ancient times and were especially common among equestrian peoples such as the Scythians (Scythian) and Mongols (Mongol).

 Until the end of the 18th century, bifurcated European garments took forms such as breeches, knickerbockers, and pantaloons. By 1820 trousers as they are known today had come into general use among men. Since then, they have been the basic style of dress for men, varying in style from the narrow cut to the extremely wide Oxford bags of 1924.

 Within Western society, trousers were long regarded as masculine apparel. Although 19th-century dress reformers tried to introduce trousers for women (known as bloomers), the style was rejected as too radical. It was only in the 20th century that it was deemed appropriate for women to wear trousers—first for sport, then for casual attire, and finally for business and formal wear.
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Trousers — are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth stretching across both as in skirts and dresses). Such items of clothing are often referred to as pants …   Wikipedia

  • trousers — ► PLURAL NOUN ▪ an outer garment covering the body from the waist to the ankles, with a separate part for each leg. ● wear the trousers Cf. ↑wear the trousers DERIVATIVES trousered adjective. ORIGIN from Irish triús and Scottish Gaelic triubhas;… …   English terms dictionary

  • trousers — is a plural noun in ordinary use (Where are my trousers?), but takes the form trouser when used attributively (i.e. before a noun, as in trouser leg and trouser suit) …   Modern English usage

  • Trousers — Trou sers, n. pl. [OF. trousses breeches worn by pages, from trousse, trosse, a bundle, a truss. See {Truss}, and cf. {Trossers}, {Trouse}.] A garment worn by men and boys, extending from the waist to the knee or to the ankle, and covering each… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • trousers — 1610s, earlier trouzes (1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Gaelic or Middle Irish triubhas close fitting shorts, of uncertain origin. The unexplained intrusive second r is perhaps by… …   Etymology dictionary

  • trousers — [n] pants bloomers, blue jeans, breeches, britches*, chaps*, chinos, cords*, corduroys, denims, dungarees, jeans, knickers, overalls, pantaloons, rompers, slacks; concept 451 …   New thesaurus

  • trousers — [trou′zərz] pl.n. [lengthened (prob. modeled on DRAWERS) < obs. trouse < Gael triubhas,TREWS] an outer garment, esp. for men and boys, extending from the waist generally to the ankles, and divided into separate coverings for the legs; pants …   English World dictionary

  • trousers — n. 1) to put on; wear trousers 2) to take off trousers 3) to button up; unbutton; unzip; zip up one s trousers 4) baggy; long; short trousers 5) a pair of trousers 6) (misc.) a trouser leg * * * [ traʊzəz] long short trousers unbutton …   Combinatory dictionary

  • trousers — noun (esp. BrE) ⇨ See also ↑pants ADJECTIVE ▪ long, short (BrE) ▪ I was still in short trousers (= still only a boy) at the time. ▪ baggy, loose ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • trousers — trou|sers S2 [ˈtrauzəz US ərz] n [plural] especially BrE [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: trouse trousers (14 19 centuries), from Scottish Gaelic triubhas] a piece of clothing that covers the lower half of your body, with a separate part fitting over… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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