different between trousers vs depants

English

Etymology

Attested since the 1610s, from the earlier form trouzes (attested since the 1580s), extended from trouse (1570s), with plural ending typical of things in pairs, from Middle Irish triubhas (“close-fitting shorts”), of uncertain origin. The unexplained intrusive second -r- is perhaps due to the influence of drawers.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?t?a?z?z/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?t?a?z?z/
• Hyphenation: trou?sers

Noun

trousers pl (plural only)

1. An article of clothing that covers the part of the body between the waist and the ankles or knees, and is divided into a separate part for each leg.

   Synonyms: breeches, britches, (all Britain, dialectal) kecks, (chiefly US) pants, (Australia) strides; see also Thesaurus:trousers

Usage notes

• Pants is about four times more common in the US than trousers, based on use in COCA.
• Trousers is about nine times more common in the UK than pants, based on use in BNC.
• Slacks about one tenth as common as pants in the US and trousers in the UK.

Hyponyms

• jeans
• pantaloons
• shorts
• slacks

Derived terms

• whoops, there go my trousers

Translations

References

Anagrams

• rousters

English

Etymology

de- +? pants

Verb

depants (third-person singular simple present depantses, present participle depantsing, simple past and past participle depantsed)

1. (slang, transitive) To remove the trousers from (someone), often by force or surprise as a prank.
   • 1954, Edith Pope, River in the Wind, Scribner, page 100:

     "'First off we depants's you. Then we take and bounce you. You'll be pulling oyster shells out of your backside—

   • 1998, Bruce Clayton, Praying for Base Hits: An American Boyhood, University of Missouri Press, ?ISBN, page 195:

     "For moronic fun we liked to sneak up behind a buddy and depants him, particularly if he was trying to sweet-talk a young college-bound girl."

   • 2004, Vicki Lewis Thompson, The Nerd Who Loved Me, St. Martin's Press, ?ISBN, page 72:

     "Harry had been about eight when three burly high school kids had followed him home, threatening to 'depants that little nerd.'"

Derived terms

• depantsing

References

• Dictionary.com entry

Anagrams

• pantsed, pedants, pentads