Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pantsuit” come from?

Pantsuit is a compound of pants and suit, both English words, ultimately deriving from pant, the English verb meaning to breathe heavily.

pantsuit (English): A women's suit consisting of coordinated pants ...

Definitions

  1. A women's suit consisting of coordinated pants ...

Ancestry of “pantsuit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpantA quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a...
2EnglishpantsAn outer garment that covers the body from the...
3EnglishpantaloonsAn article of clothing covering each leg...
4EnglishpantaloonAn aging buffoon; Trousers reminiscent of the...
5Frenchpantalontrousers , pants; knickers
6ItalianPantalone—
7Ancient GreekΠαντελεήμων—
8Ancient Greekἐλεήμωνpitiful, merciful
9Ancient GreekἐλεέωI have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to
10Ancient Greek-έωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
11Proto-Indo-European-éyetiForms causative imperfective verbs from roots;...
12Proto-Indo-European-yetiCreates transitive imperfective verbs from roots

Words derived from “pantsuit”

  • pantsuited
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yeti →