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Braccae (orbracae) is the Latin term for "trousers", and in this context is today used to refer to a style of trousers made fromwool. According to the Romans, this style of clothing originated from theGauls.[1]
Braccae were typically made with a drawstring, and tended to reach from just above the knee at the shortest, to the ankles at the longest, with length generally increasing in tribes living further north.
For theRomans, to encircle the legs and thighs withfasciae, or bands, was understood, in the time ofPompey andHorace, to be a proof of ill health and effeminacy.[2] Roman men typically woretunics, which were one-piece outfits terminating at or above the knee.
The word originates from theGaulishbhrāg-ikā, after going through a process ofsyncopation it gave rise tobraca "trouser, pants".[3]
The word iscognate with the Englishbreeches. It appears to derive from theIndo-European root*bhrg- "break", here apparently used in the sense "divide", "separate", as inScottish Gaelicbriogais ("trousers"), inBretonbragoù ("pants"), inIrishbríste[4] ("trousers"),brycan/brogau inWelsh and inDutchbroek ("trousers"). The Celtic form may have first passed to theEtruscan language, which did not distinguish between the[k] and[ɡ] sounds.[5]
