Etymologically
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pajamas

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Pronunciation

  • US: /pəˈd͡ʒɑ.məz/, /pəˈd͡ʒæ.məz/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hindi पाजामा (pājāma)[2][3][1][4] or Urdu پاجامہ (pājāma),[1][5][6][7] with the English plural -s as in trousers.[2] The Indian word comes from Persian پاجامه (pā-jāma, “leg clothing”),[1][8][9][10] a compound of پا (pā, “leg, foot”) and جامه (jāma, “garment, clothing”);[1][8][9][3] Barnhart and Etymonline call the Persian origin probable.[2][3] The Persian word for leg is related to Latin pēs and English foot,[9][10] from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loose trousers tied at the waist, worn in India by Muslims and taken up by Europeans there: 1800, spelled pai jamahs.[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1801,[11] while Hoad places it in the 18th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

In India the garment was worn by women of several classes, by Sikh men and by most Muslims, and the English adopted it for undress and for sleeping;[4] Hobson-Jobson thought they had probably taken the habit from the Portuguese.[4] The spelling varied widely at first (pigammahs 1834, peijammahs 1840),[3] and pajamas is recorded by 1845; this became the American spelling, while British English settled on pyjamas.[3][2][12] In English the word moved from the trousers alone to a sleeping suit of loose trousers and a jacket,[8][5] a use Weekley called incorrect.[7] Hobson-Jobson noted that the word had come into use in London shops,[4] and later it was also applied to a loose daytime outfit of wide trousers worn by women.[8][12]

Timeline

  • 1800 – pai jamahs, loose trousers tied at the waist, worn in India.[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1801.[11]
  • 1828 – paee-jams, worn loose.[4]
  • 1834 – the spelling pigammahs.[3]
  • 1845 – the spelling pajamas.[2][3]
  • late 19th century – pyjamaed, wearing pyjamas.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A loose suit for sleeping or lounging, usually of trousers and a jacket or top: He came down to breakfast still in his pajamas.[11][12][8]
  2. Loose, light trousers tied at the waist, worn by men and women in South Asia and the Near East.[11][12][8]
  3. Women's wide trousers or trouser suit worn for leisure.[12][8]

Word family

  • pajamaed
  • pajama

Usage notes

Pajamas is the American spelling, and British English writes pyjamas.[12][3][8] The word is plural, as in a pair of pajamas, but the singular pajama is used before another noun: pajama top, pajama party.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Yule, Henry; Burnell, A. C. (1903), Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, new ed. by William Crooke, London: John Murray
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins