Etymologically
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knickers

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈnɪkɚz/; /ˈnɪkəz/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of knickerbockers,[2][3][4][5][6] said to be named for their resemblance to the knee breeches of the Dutchmen in the illustrations to Washington Irving's History of New York (1809),[4][5] which Irving published under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loose-fitting breeches gathered at the knee; knickerbockers (1881).[7][3][4] Etymonline dates the shortening to 1866.[5]

Semantic evolution

By 1882 the word was also applied to a short, loose undergarment for women and girls,[7][5] which became the usual sense in Britain,[5][3] while the sense “knee breeches” survives in American English.[7][3] In British slang knickers is also an exclamation of annoyance (1971),[7][1] and to get one's knickers in a twist means to become flustered.[6]

Timeline

  • 1859 – knickerbockers.[4][5]
  • 1881 – knee breeches.[7][3][4]
  • 1882 – a woman's or girl's undergarment.[7][5]
  • 1971 – an exclamation of annoyance.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) Women's or girls' underpants; panties.
  2. Loose-fitting short trousers gathered at the knee; knickerbockers.
  3. Long bloomers formerly worn as underwear by women and girls.

Interjection

  1. (British slang) An exclamation of annoyance.

Word family

  • camiknickers
  • knickered
  • knickerbockers
  • Knickerbocker

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press