knickers

English

women'sknickers

Etymology

Clippingofknickerbockers.

Pronunciation

• (UK)IPA^(key):/ˈnɪkəz/
• (US)enPR:nĭkʹərz,IPA^(key):/ˈnɪkɚz/

  • Audio(US):

    (file)

• Rhymes:-ɪkə(ɹ)z

Noun

knickerspl(plural only,attributiveknicker)

1. (colloquial,nowUS,rare)Knickerbockers.
   • 1931,William Faulkner,Sanctuary,Vintage, published1993,page29:

     Students in the University were not permitted to keep cars, and the men – hatless, inknickersand bright pull-overs – looked down upon the town boys who wore hats cupped rigidly upon pomaded heads[…].

   • 1946,Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow,Bernard Wolfe,“Them First Kicks are a Killer”, inReally the Blues,New York, N.Y.:Random House,book 2 (1923–1928: Chicago, Chicago),page77:

     He was a student at Notre Dame, a robust Joe-College kind of kid, husky and tall and always dressed in plus-fourknickers.

2. (UK,Ireland,Commonwealth)Women'sunderpants.
   • 2010April 24, Sali Hughes, “Calendar girls galore”, inThe Guardian:

     The debate here is not over whether raising £26,000 (and counting) for our troops is a wonderful thing – it unarguably is – but over whether, whenever times are tough and money must be found, our default reaction as women should be to take off ourknickersto help out?

Derived terms

• all fur and no knickers
• all fur coat and no knickers
• beknickered
• camiknickers
• French knickers
• get one's knickers in a knot
• get one's knickers in a twist
• gym knickers
• keep one's knickers on
• knickered
• knickerless
• unknickered
• witches' knickers

Translations

knickerbockers—seeknickerbockers

woman's panties—see alsopanties

• Hindi:निकर(hi)m(nikar),जाँघिया(hi)m(jāṅghiyā),जांघियाm(jāṅghiyā),चड्डी(hi)f(caḍḍī),कच्छा(hi)m(kacchā),कच्छ(hi)m(kacch)
• Kabuverdianu:volvu
• Swedish:underbyxor(sv)cpl

Interjection

knickers

1. (UK,Ireland,colloquial)A mild exclamation of annoyance.

Translations

a mild exclamation of annoyance

French

Alternative forms

• knickermsg

Etymology

Unadapted borrowingfromEnglishknickers,or aclippingofknickerbockers.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/(k)ni.kœʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-œʁ

Noun

knickersmpl(plural only)

1. knickerbockers

   Synonym:knickerbockers

   Il est venu enknickers.―He came inknickers.

Usage notes

• The singular formknicker,unlike the plural form, may only refer to one pair of trousers.

Further reading

• “knickers”,inTrésor de la langue française informatisé[Digitized Treasury of the French Language],2012.