Panties
Encyclopedia
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girl
s in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area (usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton
), and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often made of elastic. Panties have either no legs or in some cases very short ones. "Panties" is usually used in the plural—a single unit is a "pair of panties"—though "panty" is used in such derivatives as "panty liner and panty hose". The term was first use to describe small knickers, in 1924.
Panties are divided into various types based on such criteria as amount of rear coverage, width at the sides, and height at which they are worn. These categories are not necessarily distinct and usage may vary somewhat among brands.
Panties are made of a variety of materials and fabrics including satin
, silk
, pvc
, cotton
, nylon
, mesh
, lace
, rawhide, leather
, latex
, lycra, and/or polyester
. Construction is typically of two pieces (front and rear) joined by seams at the crotch and sides, often with an additional gusset
in the crotch, and elastic at the waistband and leg-openings. Edible panties are sold in novelty or sex shops.
In places such as the UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, and occasionally in other Commonwealth nations such as Australia and New Zealand, panties are often referred to as knickers. The term knickers is not generally used in the US and Canada, where the term "panties" is usually favored. In the UK, pants
is also used, but can mean men's or women's underwear. This should not be confused with the North American usage of pants which are called trousers
in the UK.
, Ireland
, Canada
, Australia
, New Zealand
, India
and other Commonwealth
countries, and occasionally in the United States
, knickers is a word that is used to describe women's and rarely men's underpants and undergarment
s, women's lingerie
, and for sports pants sportswear
. In the United States
it is more commonly used as a short form for knickerbocker
s, a type of golfing pants, also called plus fours
.
The word carries a naughty or playful connotation, which keeps it in use in the media. The word has entered the English language in many ways. The phrase 'Knickers to you' has evolved into a favourite way of telling someone that one doesn't care about them or their opinion. The phrase 'Don't get your knickers in a twist' is in common usage, as a way of telling someone to 'calm down' and 'don't get angry', regardless of which gender. The phrase 'Fur coat and no knickers' describes a woman who looks rich and glamorous, but is in fact not so classy. 'Oh knickers' is a mild expletive
, which is used when something has gone wrong. The appellation 'tarty knickers' has come to be applied to women who dress in a way which is ostentatious or sexually provocative. French knickers
describe a loose fitting boxer like underpants, which may be made of silk or satin, typically with a lace trim.
In older usage knickers referred to men's garments such as knickerbockers
, also known as plus twos or plus fours in British English. The term knickerbockers has become historic in British English but is used in North America. The term "knickers" is still used to refer to "knickerbockers" in American English. However, the adoption of the term "knickers", in the 20th century, to denote a women's undergarment in English, has caused the use the term "knickers" and "knickerbockers", to become historic or at most restricted to a specific type of golfing pants.
In the 19th Century, George Cruikshank
, whose illustrations are classic icons for Charles Dickens
's works, also did the illustrations for Washington Irving
's droll
History of New York (published in 1809) when it was published in London
. He showed the old-time Knickerbockers, Irving's fictitious Dutch colonial
family, in their loose knee-length Dutch breeches. By 1859 relatively short loose ladies' undergarments, a kind of abbreviated version of pantalettes
or pantaloons
, were known as "knickers" in England, but this is often used as a general term for all women's underwear.
There are now many names for women's undergarments that are sometimes called knickers, such as panties, thongs
, g-string
s, briefs
, shorts
, tangas
and others.
. It is etymologically related to the surname Knickerbocker
(marble baker).
Girl
A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a young woman.-Etymology:...
s in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area (usually lined with absorbent material such as cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
), and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often made of elastic. Panties have either no legs or in some cases very short ones. "Panties" is usually used in the plural—a single unit is a "pair of panties"—though "panty" is used in such derivatives as "panty liner and panty hose". The term was first use to describe small knickers, in 1924.
Types
- BriefsBriefsBriefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
rise to the waist or just below the navel and have full coverage in the rear.- Classic (or full) brief - the sides extend below the hip
- High-cut (French cut) brief - the sides are somewhat narrower
- Boyleg briefs (or boyshortsBoyshortsBoy shorts, also known as boy short panties, boys' cut, booty shorts, shorties, tap panties or boyleg briefs are a kind of women's underwear that goes all the way down the hips, named for their similarity in looks to men's knit boxer shorts, which themselves are a variation on traditional boxer...
) - styled after men's briefs and may have short legs extending below the crotch. - Control panties (or control briefs) - a special type of briefs designed to offer support and give a slimmer appearance; these usually contain a stretch material such as spandexSpandexSpandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
and may extend above the waist.
- Hipsters are similar to briefs, but are worn lower with the waistband around the hips.
- Bikinis are also worn at the hips, but the fabric at the sides is narrower. In the string bikini, it disappears altogether to leave the waistband as a "string". The rear coverage of the bikini is not as full as with the brief. Bikini is the most widely worn style among women worldwide.
- TangasTanga (clothing)Tanga briefs are minimal to medium in shape depending on their brand. The tanga brief covers both front and back with triangular pieces of material joined with a narrow elastic waistband. They cover the rear, unlike thongs or g-strings. Tanga briefs have wider sides than the string bikini, usually...
have full rear coverage, but the waistband is reduced to a narrow strip at the sides. - ThongsThong (clothing)The thong is a garment generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit in many industrialized societies around the world. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions such as sumo wrestling...
have a waistband similar to tangas, but the rear coverage is not as full. The crotch is extended to the back with a narrow strip of fabric fitting between the buttocks, which becomes wider toward the top. - The G-stringG-stringA G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
is a thong with virtually no rear coverage, the narrow strip in the back extending from the crotch all the way to the waistband. It shows most of the buttocks.
Panties are made of a variety of materials and fabrics including satin
Satin
Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, pvc
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
, mesh
Mesh
Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands.-Types of mesh:...
, lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
, rawhide, leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
, lycra, and/or polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
. Construction is typically of two pieces (front and rear) joined by seams at the crotch and sides, often with an additional gusset
Gusset
In sewing, a gusset is a triangular or rhomboid piece of fabric inserted into a seam to add breadth or reduce stress from tight-fitting clothing...
in the crotch, and elastic at the waistband and leg-openings. Edible panties are sold in novelty or sex shops.
In places such as the UK, Ireland, South Africa, India, and occasionally in other Commonwealth nations such as Australia and New Zealand, panties are often referred to as knickers. The term knickers is not generally used in the US and Canada, where the term "panties" is usually favored. In the UK, pants
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...
is also used, but can mean men's or women's underwear. This should not be confused with the North American usage of pants which are called trousers
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...
in the UK.
Alternate wording
In the English speaking world, in particular in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and other Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries, and occasionally in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, knickers is a word that is used to describe women's and rarely men's underpants and undergarment
Undergarment
Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...
s, women's lingerie
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
, and for sports pants sportswear
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
it is more commonly used as a short form for knickerbocker
Knickerbockers (clothing)
Knickerbockers are men's or boys' breeches or baggy-kneed trousers particularly popular in the early twentieth century USA. Golfers' plus twos and plus fours were breeches of this type...
s, a type of golfing pants, also called plus fours
Plus fours
Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend 4 inches below the knee...
.
The word carries a naughty or playful connotation, which keeps it in use in the media. The word has entered the English language in many ways. The phrase 'Knickers to you' has evolved into a favourite way of telling someone that one doesn't care about them or their opinion. The phrase 'Don't get your knickers in a twist' is in common usage, as a way of telling someone to 'calm down' and 'don't get angry', regardless of which gender. The phrase 'Fur coat and no knickers' describes a woman who looks rich and glamorous, but is in fact not so classy. 'Oh knickers' is a mild expletive
Expletive attributive
Expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out". It was introduced into English in the seventeenth century to refer to various kinds of padding—the padding out of a book with peripheral material, the addition of syllables to a line of poetry for...
, which is used when something has gone wrong. The appellation 'tarty knickers' has come to be applied to women who dress in a way which is ostentatious or sexually provocative. French knickers
French Knickers
French knickers are a type of lingerie and are sometimes called "tap pants", i.e. tap-dancing pants. The term is predominantly used in the UK to describe a type of underwear worn from the hip. They cover the hip, most of the upper thigh and all of the buttocks, and are denominated by the 'open leg'...
describe a loose fitting boxer like underpants, which may be made of silk or satin, typically with a lace trim.
In older usage knickers referred to men's garments such as knickerbockers
Knickerbockers (clothing)
Knickerbockers are men's or boys' breeches or baggy-kneed trousers particularly popular in the early twentieth century USA. Golfers' plus twos and plus fours were breeches of this type...
, also known as plus twos or plus fours in British English. The term knickerbockers has become historic in British English but is used in North America. The term "knickers" is still used to refer to "knickerbockers" in American English. However, the adoption of the term "knickers", in the 20th century, to denote a women's undergarment in English, has caused the use the term "knickers" and "knickerbockers", to become historic or at most restricted to a specific type of golfing pants.
In the 19th Century, George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.-Early life:Cruikshank was born in London...
, whose illustrations are classic icons for Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's works, also did the illustrations for Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
's droll
Droll
A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabethan theatre, they added dancing and other...
History of New York (published in 1809) when it was published in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He showed the old-time Knickerbockers, Irving's fictitious Dutch colonial
Dutch Colonial
Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house...
family, in their loose knee-length Dutch breeches. By 1859 relatively short loose ladies' undergarments, a kind of abbreviated version of pantalettes
Pantalettes
Pantalettes are undergarments covering the legs worn by women, girls, and very young boys in the early- to mid-nineteenth century....
or pantaloons
Underpants
-Boxer shorts:Boxer shorts, or simply boxers, have an elasticated waistband that is at or near the wearer's waist, while the leg sections are fairly loose and extend to the mid-thigh. There is usually a fly, either with or without buttons...
, were known as "knickers" in England, but this is often used as a general term for all women's underwear.
There are now many names for women's undergarments that are sometimes called knickers, such as panties, thongs
Thong (clothing)
The thong is a garment generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit in many industrialized societies around the world. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions such as sumo wrestling...
, g-string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
s, briefs
Briefs
Briefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
, shorts
Shorts
Shorts are a bifurcated garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to or even below the knee, but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they are a shortened...
, tangas
Tanga (clothing)
Tanga briefs are minimal to medium in shape depending on their brand. The tanga brief covers both front and back with triangular pieces of material joined with a narrow elastic waistband. They cover the rear, unlike thongs or g-strings. Tanga briefs have wider sides than the string bikini, usually...
and others.
Other use
Knickers was also an early English term for toy marblesMarbles
A marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...
. It is etymologically related to the surname Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker
Knickerbocker, also spelled Knikkerbakker, Knickerbakker, Knickerbacker, is a surname that dates back to the early Dutch colonists in New York. In 1809, Washington Irving published his satirical A History of New York under the pseudonym "Diedrich Knickerbocker", and since that time "Knickerbocker"...
(marble baker).