dungaree

American  

[duhng-guh-ree] / ˌdʌŋ gəˈri /

noun

1. dungarees,

   1. work clothes, overalls, etc., of blue denim.

   2. blue jeans.

2. blue denim.

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dungaree British  

/ ˌdʌŋɡəˈriː /

noun

1. a coarse cotton fabric used chiefly for work clothes, etc

2. (plural)

   1. a suit of workman's overalls made of this material consisting of trousers with a bib attached

   2. a casual garment resembling this, usually worn by women or children

3. trousers

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Etymology

Origin of dungaree

First recorded in 1605–15, dungaree is from the Hindi word dungrī kind of coarse cloth

Explanation

Dungaree is a coarse, sturdy, cotton fabric. Dungarees are jeans. This word, from Hindi, has all but lost its original meaning, which refers to a strong cotton fabric. Now it refers to pants made from this material: jeans. Dungarees are casual pants worn for hanging out or doing physical work. Dungarees are tough clothes, though they eventually tend to get holes in the knees. Not many clothes, at least in the U.S., are more popular than dungarees, which range from cheap and rugged to expensive and fashionable.

Example Sentences

Although Little Richard was in his 30s, “Ready Teddy” aims for a teen audience, reveling in how “all the flattop cats and all the dungaree dolls/are headed for the gym to the sock hop ball.”

From New York Times • May 10, 2020

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gay couple dressed alike, bare-backed, in dungaree cutoffs with t-shirts tucked in back pockets & white socks on crowded Greenwich Village Street.

From The Guardian • Jun. 7, 2015

Just a few years ago, the Navy changed from the dungaree uniform for both enlisted men and women to the blue camouflage uniforms.

From Time • May 10, 2012

Chambray shirts, coveralls, boiler suits, and clothes made of dungaree also tend to come in blue, and these have been popular with manual laborers since the early 20th century.

From Slate • May 1, 2012

She was in the old blue dungaree dress, and stood silhouetted against the red sun of the morning like a young goddess.

From Latitude 19 degree A Romance of the West Indies in the Year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty by Crowninshield, Mrs. Schuyler