We’re looking at pant, and also pants, because seriously what the hell is up with that? Am I the only one that wonders why the word for the thing you wear on your legs is related to a word for heavy breathing? I am? Oh well, it’s my blog.
Pant showed up in the mid fifteenth century, believed to be from the Old French pantaisier, which basically means pant. It’s believed to come from the Vulgar Latin pantasiare, to struggle with a nightmare. Uh, you breathe heavily during a bad dream I guess? And that word just happens to be from the Greek phantasioun, imaginary, the origin word for phantasm.
Yes, you read right. Pant and phantasm are related. Man, this post couldn’t get any weirder.
Pants showed up in 1840. That’s about it, because it comes from the ridiculous word pantaloons, which actually does have a history. It showed up in the mid seventeenth century where it just meant a kind of tights. Apparently it’s related to a sixteenth century character in an Italian comedy called Pantaloun who wore tight trousers and whose name actually comes from San Pantaleone, a Christian martyr.
Okay, I spoke too soon earlier because seriously. What. The. Hell.
Sources
