trousers
pronunciation
How to pronounce trousers in British English:
UK [ˈtraʊzəz]
How to pronounce trousers in American English:
US [ˈtraʊzərz]
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- Noun:
- (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
Word Origin
- trousers
- trousers: [17] Trousers is a Gaelic contribution to English vocabulary. Irish trius and Scots Gaelic triubhas (singular nouns) denote ‘closefitting shorts’. They were borrowed into English in the 16th century as trouse or trews. The latter form has survived intact, but trouse, through the influence of drawers, was expanded into trousers.=> trews
- trousers (n.)
- "garment for men, covering the lower body and each leg separately," 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. Early recorded use of the word indicates the garment was regarded as Celtic: "A jellous wife was like an Irish trouze, alwayes close to a mans tayle" [1630]. The unexplained intrusive second -r- is perhaps by influence of drawers or other words in pairs ending in -ers.
Example
- 1. He wiped it on the troll 's trousers .
- 2. Wei jia wore khaki trousers and a red t-shirt .
- 3. Men wear dark clothes mainly suit trousers and dark shirts .
- 4. He was found clad only in his trousers .
- 5. No fart could rip through trousers .