trowsers

attributive trowser

1. archaicpluralplural onlyArchaic spelling of trousers.First known use 17th – early 20th c.

   He commenced dressing at top by donning his beaver hat, a very tall one, by the by, and then—still minus his trowsers—he hunted up his boots.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 4”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC

   2 more examples

   My turn-out was unexceptionable; men copied my running-shoes; my jacket and trowsers were an admiration; my bat perfection; I was the very picture of a cricketer, but, alas! very little more than a picture.

   1860 August 24, “The Demon Bowler”, in The Brant Expositor, volume VIII, number 45, Brantford, Canada West, →ISSN, →OCLC, front page, column 3

   The best fighting costume is mere shirt and trowsers, and in this costume the best fighting of modern days has been done. […] Light limp caps of woollen, with brood visors, or broad-brimmed (but not too broad,) felt hats; double-breasted coats, so made that they can be worn open in warm weather, and will really protect the chest in a lower temperature; trowsers of the same, and under these, light flannel shirts and drawers; such are the proper materials for a soldier’s dress, even in the Summer months.

   1861 May 1, “Volunteer Uniforms”, in The New York Times, volume X, number 3000, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 09 Sep 2025, page 4, columns 5–6