panty

English

Alternative forms

• pantie (uncommon)

Etymology

Recorded since 1845 in the plural, meaning “drawers for men”, a derogatory diminutive of pants (the shortening of pantaloons); meaning “underpants for women or children” first recorded 1908.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænti

Noun

panty (plural panties)

1. (obsolete, in the plural) Short trousers for men, or more usually boys. [from the 19th c.]
2. (usually in the plural, or in compounds) An article of clothing worn as underpants by women. [from the 20th c.]
   • 1952 October 13, Advertisement, Life, page 13,

     For, unlike old-fashioned diapers, PLAYTEX Dryper confines all wetness to the panty area; brings your baby a whole new world of comfort plus cleaner, finer protection.

   • 2003, Glamour, Volume 101, Issues 4-6, page number unknown,

     “One time I was going to run and change before a concert because I realized I had panty lines showing,” says Britta Phillips, […] .

   • 2011, Dan S. Kennedy, Jason Marrs, No B.S. Price Strategy, page 54:

     That puts their panty well over 1000% higher priced than the Hanes panty and roughly 300% higher priced than the Victoria′s Secret panty. All three are cotton bikini panties. Not much difference in the actual panty but a huge discrepancy in prices.

3. (informal, roller derby) A helmet cover.
   • 2010, Alex Cohen, Jennifer Barbee, Down and Derby: The Insider's Guide to Roller Derby, unnumbered page:

     There is a special play called “Passing the Star” that allows the jammer to remove her helmet panty and hand it over to the pivot.

   • 2010, Pamela Ribon, Going in Circles, page 200:

     We′re practicing this strategy right now. Francesca is the Jammer, and she′s supposed to pass me the helmet panty. Bruisey-Q is assisting her, helping her get through the pack by knocking the formidable ass of ThunderSmack out of the way.

   • 2018, Elicia Hyder, Lights Out Lucy: Roller Derby 101:

     "If you get jammed in, hand me the panty. You can't throw it at me."

Usage notes

One wears a pair of panties (like pant(aloon)s), not a panty. The singular form is used in derived terms, but rarely to refer to a single pair of panties.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• pantied
• pantie girdle, panty girdle
• pantie hose, pantihose, pantyhose, panty hose, panty-hose
• pantiliner, pantyliner, panty liner
• panty-belt
• panty dropper
• panty man
• panty line
• panty raid
• panty remover
• panty shield
• pantywaist
• pink panty dropper

Descendants

• → Cebuano: panti

Translations

panties — see panties

Dutch

panty

Etymology

Borrowed from English panties, panty.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛnti/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pan‧ty

Noun

panty m (plural panty's, diminutive panty'tje n)

1. a pantyhose, nylon tights worn about legs by women
2. (obsolete) originally, short and/or legless undershorts worn by women and children

Derived terms

• netpanty

 

French

Etymology

From English panty.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɑ̃.ti/

Noun

panty m (plural pantys)

1. panty girdle

Further reading

• “panty”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English panty.

Noun

panty m (plural pantys)

1. pantyhose

   Synonyms: pantys, pantimedias, medias panty, media

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “panty”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10