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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for April 21, 1999
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dungarees [n. dung-guh-REEZ]
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Dungarees are sturdy pants or other clothing made of heavy cotton
fabric, often blue. They are also known as blue jeans. Like "blue
jeans" and "pants," the word is almost always used in the plural.
In the early 1700s, a coarse, cotton cloth arrived in England,
imported from India. This fabric, known in the Indian trade language
of Hindustani as dungri, was first used for sails and tents. Today,
that fabric is called denim.
The seamen, noticing dungri's hard-wearing qualities, began making
work pants out of it. Naturally, the pants were called dungris. For
many decades, they were the standard dress for the navy and merchant
marine. In World War II, after millions of young people wore them in
the military, dungarees came into popular fashion.
There are several other clothing words that emerged from Hindustani,
including bandanna, cummerbund, and pajamas.
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