Braccae
Encyclopedia
Braccae is the Latin term for trousers, and in this context is today used to refer to a style of pants
, made from wool
. The Romans
encountered this style of clothing among peoples whom they called Galli (Gauls
). This is often assumed to mean speakers of Celtic languages
, though many scholars (including John Collis
, Peter S Wells, Stephen Oppenheimer
) doubt that the term Galli was primarily based on linguistic affiliation.
Braccae were typically made with a drawstring, and tended to reach from just above the knee at the shortest, to the ankles at the longest, with length generally increasing in tribes living further north.
When the Romans
first encountered the braccae, they thought them to be effeminate (Roman men typically wore tunic
s, which were one-piece outfits terminating at or above the knee). However, braccae eventually became popular among Roman legionaries
stationed in cooler climates to the north of southern Italy
.
with the English breeches. It appears to derive from the Indo-European
root *bhrg- 'break', here apparently used in the sense 'divide', 'separate'. The consonant sequence *b.r.k implies an origin in the Germanic
(with regular sound change *g > *k) rather than the Celtic
branch of the Indo-European languages; Celtic would regularly have *b.r.g instead, as in Scottish Gaelic briogais. The form *b.r.k is well attested in the Germanic languages (Proto-Germanic *brōkiz, see breeches
).
If the Romans learnt this word from Celtic-speakers, it seems odd that the Latin word has cc, apparently resembling the Germanic form with *k rather than the Celtic form with *g. There are several possible explanations for this:
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
, made from wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. The Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
encountered this style of clothing among peoples whom they called Galli (Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
). This is often assumed to mean speakers of Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
, though many scholars (including John Collis
John Collis
John Collis, is a British prehistorian. His first dig was in Longbridge Deverill with the Hawkes. He studied in Prague , Tübingen and Cambridge and was awarded his Ph.D. in Cambridge, where he studied from 1963-1970. He joined the Archaeology Department in Sheffield in 1972 and was made professor...
, Peter S Wells, Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer is a British paediatrician, geneticist, and writer. He is a member of Green Templeton College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and carries out and publishes research in the fields of genetics and human prehistory.-Career:Oppenheimer...
) doubt that the term Galli was primarily based on linguistic affiliation.
Braccae were typically made with a drawstring, and tended to reach from just above the knee at the shortest, to the ankles at the longest, with length generally increasing in tribes living further north.
When the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
first encountered the braccae, they thought them to be effeminate (Roman men typically wore tunic
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
s, which were one-piece outfits terminating at or above the knee). However, braccae eventually became popular among Roman legionaries
Legionary
The Roman legionary was a professional soldier of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 BC. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45. They enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign...
stationed in cooler climates to the north of southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Etymology
The word is cognateCognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
with the English breeches. It appears to derive from the Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
root *bhrg- 'break', here apparently used in the sense 'divide', 'separate'. The consonant sequence *b.r.k implies an origin in the Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
(with regular sound change *g > *k) rather than the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
branch of the Indo-European languages; Celtic would regularly have *b.r.g instead, as in Scottish Gaelic briogais. The form *b.r.k is well attested in the Germanic languages (Proto-Germanic *brōkiz, see breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
).
If the Romans learnt this word from Celtic-speakers, it seems odd that the Latin word has cc, apparently resembling the Germanic form with *k rather than the Celtic form with *g. There are several possible explanations for this:
- The Romans first heard the word from Celtic-speakers who had in turn borrowed it from Germanic-speakers.
- The Romans first heard the word from Germanic-speakers.
- The Romans first heard a form with Celtic *g, but the pronunciation they came to use in imitation did not accurately reflect what they originally heard.
- The Celtic word first passed to the Etruscans, who did not distinguish between the "c" and "g" sounds. Transition through the Etruscans accounts for the Greek amorge being rendered as Latin amurca, Greek κυβερνἂν (kubernân) as Latin gubernare. Perhaps in this way "bragae" became "bracae", hence "braccae".