Nate Patterson On Units Of Pant
Pants. At one point or another we’ve all worn them.
More specifically, we’ve worn a pair of pants. Not a set of pants but a pair of pants, which begs the question, what is a pants? If we are wearing pairs of pants what would a singular pants be?
You see the pants we wear are one unit, unlike a pair of socks which comprise two separate units of sock. A literal translation of a pair of a plural implies a total count of four individual units, which a pair of pants does indeed posses.
If you examine your pants you will find that each pants leg is composed of two halves, the front and back, which are sewn together to form what is called a pants leg. When this unit is coupled with a second pants legs a pair of pants is created. Therefore if a pair of pants is the whole entirety of joined pant units, each quarter of pants is a pant. We wear four pant, or a "Pair of pants." Knowing this we can begin to break down the misuse of pant based terminology.
Let us first examine men's typical garments.
Shorts;Â so called due to their status as shorter in length than that of usual pants, are effectively half pants.
Chaps are an interesting departure from the normal in that they are each one pant joined together making them a pair of pant. Simple enough.
Women’s garments are a bit of a challenge.
First we have the skirt. Two double wide pant units coupled together, making it a pants, unipants, or bipant . Technically we could call it a pantset, due to its nature as one coupling of pant.
A mini-skirt is a shorts, unishorts, or bishort.
A wrap, or sarong, being but a singular unit would be called a pant.
A towel across the waist after a shower is a short.
A towel wrapped across the entire torso, so as to conceal the breasts would be a high short, or torso concealing unishort.
I refuse to acknowledge the existence of the "skort" because I think it’s stupid.
The dress is more akin to a long shirt than a high pants, though if the dress is composed of four units and has sleeves, it might be considered a quradrapants. Perhaps a shint.
Pant = One quarter of a pair of pants.
Pants = Two pant coupled together to form a pants, or pants leg.
Pair of pants = Two pants.
Chaps = One pair of pant.
Shorts = Pair of half pants.
Capris = Pair of three quarter pants.
Skirt = One pants / Unipants / Pantset / Bipant.
Mini-skirt = One shorts / Unishorts / Shortset / Bishort.
