pantaloni

Forms

pantaloni m pl (plural only)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French pantalon, which DELI dates to 1650 and DEI to 1625 in the plural.^[2][3][4][5] The French word comes from the name of a mask of the commedia dell'arte who wore long trousers, Venetian Pantalon of Venice.^[2][4][3][6]

The mask was named after the saint Pantaleone, venerated in Venice, whose name was very common in the city; the church of San Pantalon is recorded there by 1101, and the mask by 1561.^[2][4][7] Prati also mentions the view that the trousers took their name from a nickname of the Venetians themselves, who were called after the mask.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest Italian records are from the years around 1800: a Palermo document of 1799 speaks of breeches chiamati alla pantalona, “called after Pantalone”, and in 1809 Ugo Foscolo wrote that he did not dare present himself to His Excellency così in pantaloni, “like this, in trousers”.^[2][4] The garment was long trousers in the French fashion.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The Venetian lexicographer Boerio wrote in 1829 that the word had come into use after the political revolution, for wide sailor's trousers that covered the whole leg and then became common.^[2][8] Two years before Foscolo, in 1797, the Jacobins had used pantaloni in a political sense, for the members of the Venetian oligarchy.^[2] Tommaseo marked the word as taken from French.^[10]

The word spread to many languages: DEI cites Turkish pantalon, English pantaloon (1798) and Portuguese pantalão.^[9] Pantalonaia, a woman who makes trousers, is recorded from 1936 and pantaloncino “shorts” from 1967.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1561 – The Venetian mask Pantalone is first recorded.^[2]
• 1650 – French pantalon is recorded in DELI's dating.^[2]
• 1797 – Jacobin writers call the Venetian oligarchs pantaloni.^[2]
• 1799 – A Palermo document mentions breeches alla pantalona.^[2]
• 1809 – Ugo Foscolo writes in pantaloni.^[2][6]
• 1829 – Boerio's Venetian dictionary describes the new garment.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. trousers, pants: a garment covering the body from the waist down, with a separate part for each leg: Si è comprato un paio di pantaloni di velluto.^[6][5][1]
2. (singular, pantalone) One leg of a pair of trousers: Mi sono strappato il pantalone sinistro.^[6][5]

Word family

• pantaloncini
• pantalonaia

Related words

• French pantalon

Usage notes

The singular pantalone is used for the garment too, and for one of its legs.^[6][5] Portare i pantaloni means to be the one in charge in a family, and farsela nei pantaloni (colloquial) to be terrified.^[5][6] Gonna pantalone is a divided skirt and tailleur pantalone a trouser suit.^[6][5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
4. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 736
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2751
10. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET