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 (trousers) and jacket
Definitions
- A women's suit consisting of coordinated pants (trousers) and jacket
Ancestry of “pantsuit”, step by step
pantsuit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English pant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | pant | A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a... |
| 2 | English | pants | An outer garment that covers the body from the... |
| 3 | English | pantaloons | An article of clothing covering each leg... |
| 4 | English | pantaloon | An aging buffoon; Trousers reminiscent of the... |
| 5 | French | pantalon | trousers UK, pants US |
| 6 | Italian | Pantalone | Pantaloon (Venetian theatrical character) |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | Παντελεήμων | — |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεήμων | pitiful, merciful |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | ἐλεέω | I have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |
via English suit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | suit | A set of clothes to be worn together, now... |
| 2 | Middle English | sute | Clothes or clothing; especially those that match;... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | suite | pursuit |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | sequita | — |
| 5 | Latin | sequor | I follow, come or go after |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | sekʷōr | follow, come/go after |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sékʷetor | to be following |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sekʷ- | to follow; to see; to say |