nouns - Why is the word "pants" plural?


We wear a shirt, a jacket but a pair of pants.


Why is pants plural?



Answer



A quick search led me to the excellent site World Wide Words run by Michael Quinion


The site has an entire page on this issue. Here's a brief snippet.



Before the days of modern tailoring, such garments, whether underwear or outerwear, were indeed made in two parts, one for each leg. The pieces were put on each leg separately and then wrapped and tied or belted at the waist (just like cowboys’ chaps). The plural usage persisted out of habit even after the garments had become physically one piece. However, a shirt was a single piece of cloth, so it was always singular.



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