Clothing Term Word Origins

Since I was a young boy, I’ve found word origins fascinating. Here is a small collection of clothing term etymologies that I have gathered through the years. I hope you find them as interesting as do…

Button– Originally from Middle English spelled “boton” and meant “bud” of a flower. Buttons look like flower buds.

Collar – Comes from the Latin word for “collum” which means neck.

Cummerbund – Originally a Persian word “kamarband” which they wore around their loins.

Denim – The fabric that blue jeans are made from was called “serge de Nimes” after the manufacturing town of Nimes in southern France, where the fabric has its origins. Overtime, the words de and Nimes merged together into denim.

Drawers – In Old English the word “dragan” meant to “draw something toward you”, which is what you do when you pull on a pair of drawers.

Jacket – The root word “jack” in Old English was originally a coat of mail and a “jacket” was a little coat of mail.

Leotard – Named after the French trapeze artist, Jules Léotard (1830-1870), who wore leotards when he performed.

Linen – Originally linen fabric was used as a second layer to “line” the inner side of a garment.

Pants – Originally a French word “Pantalone” who was a common character in French comedy. Pantalone always w0re a particular type of trousers. His trousers gave us the name pantaloon, now shortened to pants.

Shirt and Skirt – Shirt and Skirt originally meant the same thing and came from the Old English word “scyrte” meaning any short garment.

Slacks – Comes from the Latin word “Laxus” which meant spacious and loose.

Starch – The word starch is derived from the Middle English word sterchen, meaning to stiffen.

Stocking – From the Old English word stocc, meaning trunk or log. Its most likely a reference to the resemblence of legs to tree trunks.

Sweater – Originally, a sweater was a woolen vest or jersey made to be worn during rowing to produce sweat in an effort to lose weight.

If you know of any other clothing related word origins please post them in a comment and I’ll add them to my list!

Thanks in part to Online Etymology Dictionary