Today it is almost impossible to find a person who does not have jeans or clothes made of such fabric in his wardrobe. It so happened that few people know why jeans have gained their name. But in order for you to fill this gap, we wrote this article. You will read a lot of interesting facts, and you will also know the etymology of the word "jeans".
Italian weavers
In the XVI century, weaving was well developed in one of the Italian provinces - Genoa. Manufactured materials were diverse. Among the delicate and refined fabrics, there was also a rough twill with diagonal weaving. Naturally, the aristocrats did not buy it for sewing their elegant and expensive dresses, so this fabric did not even have a name. Who would have thought that the etymology of the word "jeans" is deeply rooted in the history of Italy and even other countries!
Popular imported material
After a certain amount of time, the demand for this material began to grow among the French. The purchase of goods took place in the city of Genoa, they also called it - Gene.
So, the etymology of the word "jeans" leads us to Paris. The French liked the material, they called it janne. From France, this verbal unit “migrated” to English, where it slightly changed - to jean. The word has retained its appearance and spelling to this day. This is the story of the word jeans. Etymology (the science of the origin of words) confirms this to us.
There is a false version of jeans that states that jeans originate from cowboys, American settlers, and riders. This opinion is a deep misconception, since the word comes from Italy, which after many centuries came to America.
And what does the cowboys have to do with it?
The etymology of the word “jeans” is preparing another story for you. In the 19th century, cowboys came to America to work. For them it was necessary to mass-sew the form. Jeans were chosen as the main material. Leiba Strauss, known to fashion as Levi Strauss, acquired a patent for the manufacture of this type of clothing. It was he who designed and sewed the classic version of jeans. This was the eve of a sensation in the fashion world. The model developed by Strauss had only 4 pockets: in front - 2, in the back - 1, small in front for a watch - 1. Such American trousers were painted in deep blue (indigo). In these years, their value was one and a half dollars per unit of goods.
Fashionable synonym
Shopping lovers always in boutiques and salons pay attention to advertising leaflets. And surely many of them met the word "denim". Popular sources, whether it be the explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov and Shvedova or the academic dictionary of Evgenyeva, interpret “denim” as a synonym for jeans. Its origin is no less exciting.
Nondescript Italian fabric of light brown color did not suit Parisian fashion designers, they decided to make it more attractive. Couturiers agreed that the fabric would have to be dyed blue. This procedure was carried out in the town of Nimes. Of course, you already managed to notice the similarity of the word "denim" with the name of the city. Literally, de Nim means "from Nimes." Now the term "denim" means a certain color and tone, as well as clothes in the wardrobe of a man and a woman.
Etymology of the word "jeans"
Briefly summarize. The lexical unit that interests us calls the type of fabric (jene) that was produced in the city of the same name - Genoa. The word migrated to France, then to the UK, where it gained the final spelling and pronunciation - jeans.
Thanks to our article, you learned the origin of the word "jeans", about the amazing "journey" of a word unit, about the origin of its synonym, as well as about the creator of the described fashionable clothes - Levi Strauss.