Word for Wednesday: Trousers

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Our March Word for Wednesday theme is clothes. 

The word clothes comes from the Old English ‘claðas’ meaning ‘garments’. ‘Claðas’ is also the plural of ‘clað’ meaning ‘cloth’.

Last week, we looked at the word shirt. Today’s word is trousers. 

Trousers are a garment which extend from the waist to the knees or ankles, and which cover each leg separately. The word is usually used a plural due to the separate leg parts, though one might refer to a ‘trouser leg’ in the singular form. 

The word trousers dates to the 1610s, and before that this item of clothing was known as 'trouzes' (1580s), from 'trouse' (1570s). The word comes from the Gaelic or Middle Irish word ‘tribuhas’ meaning ‘close-fitting shorts’. 

The American English word for this garment is pants. The word pants dates to 1840 and comes from ‘pantaloons’—a garment worn by men that was similar to tights. By 1798, the word was used in reference to trousers that were tied below the knee.


10 Mar 2021
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One of the students has put in a huge amount of effort in completing Spellzone at least 3 times a week since his arrival with us in January. Looking at his scores after the latest GL testing, his standardised score has risen from 99 to 131. This is a truly phenomenal result. I just wanted to share the best result I have ever seen.

Terrie Penrose-Toms, Casterton College

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