Pants

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pænts/

Definitions

1. An item of clothing that consists of a fabric covering for the lower limbs from the waist to the ankles, commonly featuring a waistband and open legs
2. A garment worn on the lower body that extends from the waist to the ankles and typically has a structured fit around the legs
3. A type of clothing designed to cover the lower part of the body from the waist down to the ankles, often including a fitted shape and a waistband

Etymology: Trousers were once a fashion borrowed from a stage character. In the Italian commedia dell'arte, Pantalone was a stock old merchant of Venice, and the character's tight-fitting trousers gave their name to the garment. French took the word as "pantalon," and English adopted it as "pantaloon," which in the plural "pantaloons" came to mean the close-fitting trousers themselves. The English word we use today is a shortening of that plural. "Pantaloons" was trimmed to "pants," which kept the sense of a garment covering the legs. The same stage figure also lent a name to a different word: "pantaloon" came to mean a foolish old man in English theatre, so the character's name survives in two very different senses.

Synonyms: trousers, slacks, bottoms

Antonyms: top, shirt