English
pantaloons
Pantaloons comes from French pantalon ‘trousers (UK), pants (US)’, from Ancient Greek ἐλεήμων ‘merciful’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *pánts.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pántsreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπᾶςpâs‘all’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἔλεοςéleos‘pity, mercy, compassion’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐλεέωeleéō‘to have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐλεήμωνeleḗmōn‘merciful’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΠαντελεήμωνPanteleḗmōn
- Italianc. 1300–presentPantalone
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpantalon‘trousers (UK), pants (US)’
- English1500–presentpantaloon
- Englishearliest quotation 1936pantaloons
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pántsreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπᾶςpâs‘all’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἔλεοςéleos‘pity, mercy, compassion’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐλεέωeleéō‘to have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐλεήμωνeleḗmōn‘merciful’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΠαντελεήμωνPanteleḗmōn
- Italianc. 1300–presentPantalone
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpantalon‘trousers (UK), pants (US)’
- English1500–presentpantaloon
- Englishearliest quotation 1936pantaloons
Earliest quotation: 1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway: “But the truth was, her pantaloons came down to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
company, father, food, pain, feed, pattern, pope, foster, fur, apparent, pastor, companion, papa, penetration, patriot, patron, fodder, perpetrator, fad, pasture, forage, paternity, ayr, paternal, padre, accompaniment, perpetrate, patrician, pater, panini, père, pav, patrimony, compere, pannier, 60 more
through Ancient Greek πᾶς ‘all’
pancreas, panacea, pandemonium, 3 more
through Ancient Greek ἐλεέω ‘to have pity on, take pity on, show mercy to’
Today it means
noun An article of clothing covering each leg separately, that covers the area from the waist to the ankle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *pánts / pantaloons