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DUNGAREE dunˇgaˇree n. plural: Dungarees
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The word DUNGAREES (it is usually, though not always, found in the plural) is one of the relatively few mainstream English words to have come from Hindi, one of the major languages of India. The source word in Hindi is dungrí, and refers to a type of coarse cloth.
In English, dungaree is usually used to refer specifically to blue denim cloth, and in plural to refer to clothes, especially trousers, made of such material. While the term dungarees is still in use, I'd say that it is less common than jeans, the usual term for blue denim trousers. Dungaree is first found in English in the seventeenth century; as a term for trousers made of such material it dates from the nineteenth century. |