Where does “short trousers” come from?
short trousers (English) comes from English trousers, from English trouzes, from English trouse, from Irish triús, from Middle Irish triubus, from Old Irish trebus, from Old French trebus, from Late Latin tubrucus — to shine, shimmer.
short trousers (English): Trousers reaching as far as the knee, typically worn by young boys
Definitions
- Trousers reaching as far as the knee, typically worn by young boys
Ancestry of “short trousers”, step by step
short trousers traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English trousers
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | trousers | An article of clothing that covers the part of... |
| 2 | English | trouzes | — |
| 3 | English | trouse | brushwood; trousers |
| 4 | Irish | triús | trousers, trews |
| 5 | Middle Irish | triubus | — |
| 6 | Old Irish | trebus | — |
| 7 | Old French | trebus | — |
| 8 | Late Latin | tubrucus | — |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | *þeuhabrōks | loincloth |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrēǵ- | to shine, shimmer |
via English short
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | short | Having a small distance from one end or edge to... |
| 2 | Middle English | schort | short as opposed to being tall or long |
| 3 | Old English | sċeort | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | skurt | short; lacking, deficient |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | skurtaz | short; lacking, deficient |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ḱer- | dung, manure, filth; manure, dung, filth |