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The word pyjamas comes from Persian pā, “leg”, and jāma, “garment”, through Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu). In India the pāy-jāma was a pair of loose trousers tied at the waist. British colonists adopted them, and in Victorian Britain they became men's nightwear.

Etymology

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Hobson-Jobson, an 1886 dictionary of Anglo-Indian words, says the garment was worn in India by women of various classes, by Sikh men and above all by Muslim men and women. Europeans living there took to it as comfortable clothing for the home and for sleeping. Loose trousers of this kind, then called “mogul's breeches”, had already reached England in the 17th century as lounging wear, but the fashion soon faded. English records the word pyjamas from the early 1800s, and from about 1870 pyjamas became standard nightwear for British men. A close relative, the shalwar, is still everyday wear across South Asia. The Persian root pā is a distant cousin of English foot and Latin pes, all from the same ancient Indo-European word. British English spells it pyjamas; American English writes pajamas.

Türkçe oku
Pijama sözcüğü Farsçadan gelir: pā “bacak”, jāma “giysi” demektir; sözcük Hintçe ve Urducadan geçerek yayıldı. Hindistan'da pāy-jāma, belden bağlanan bol bir pantolondu. Oradaki İngilizler bu rahat giysiyi benimsedi ve Viktorya döneminde pijama, İngiltere'de erkeklerin gece giysisi oldu.

1886'da yayımlanan ve Hindistan'daki İngilizlerin kullandığı sözcükleri derleyen Hobson-Jobson sözlüğüne göre bu giysiyi Hindistan'da çeşitli sınıflardan kadınlar, Sih erkekleri ve en çok da Müslüman kadınlar ve erkekler giyerdi. Oradaki Avrupalılar da onu evde ve yatarken giyilecek rahat bir giysi olarak benimsedi. Bu tür bol pantolonlar aslında 17. yüzyılda İngiltere'ye ev giysisi olarak girmiş, ama moda çabuk geçmişti. Sözcük İngilizcede 1800'lerin başından beri kayıtlıdır; 1870 dolaylarından itibaren pijama, İngiliz erkeklerinin olağan gece giysisi oldu. Türkçeye ise Fransızca pyjama'dan geçti. Yakın akrabası şalvar, Güney Asya'da bugün de gündelik giysidir; Türkçedeki şalvar da Farsça bir sözcüktür. Farsçadaki pā ise İngilizce foot (ayak) ve Latince pes ile aynı eski Hint-Avrupa kökünden gelir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Pajamas
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