Trousers
/ˈtraʊ.zəz/noun
A garment covering the body from the waist to the ankles, with separate sections for each leg.
Did you know?The word entered English through Scots and older continental forms, and unlike spooky words such as “nightmare” or “disaster,” its power is in pure transformation: a practical garment name that simply survived centuries of sound change.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
trousers
“Trousers; bifurcated leg coverings”
Scots / Early Modern English
Scots
trouse
“Trousers or a single leg covering”
Middle French
French
trousse
“A bundle, collection, or tucked-up mass”
Late Latin
Latin
trozare / *trusiare
“To tuck up or gather (reconstructed/uncertain intermediary forms)”