knickers English · revision 2180
15 Oct 2026, 03:01 by bogdan “New entry from dictionary sources” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈnɪkɚz/; /ˈnɪkəz/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a shortening of [[knickerbockers]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) 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),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) which Irving published under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Loose-fitting breeches gathered at the knee; knickerbockers (1881).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline dates the shortening to 1866.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ By 1882 the word was also applied to a short, loose undergarment for women and girls,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) which became the usual sense in Britain,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) while the sense “knee breeches” survives in American English.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) In British slang ''knickers'' is also an exclamation of annoyance (1971),^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) and ''to get one's knickers in a twist'' means to become flustered.^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1859 – ''knickerbockers''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1881 – knee breeches.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1882 – a woman's or girl's undergarment.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1971 – an exclamation of annoyance.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(chiefly British)'' Women's or girls' underpants; panties.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Loose-fitting short trousers gathered at the knee; knickerbockers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Long bloomers formerly worn as underwear by women and girls.^(AHD)^(RHWU)
+
+ ===Interjection===
+ # ''(British slang)'' An exclamation of annoyance.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[camiknickers]]
+ * [[knickered]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[knickerbockers]]
+ * [[Knickerbocker]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}