I heard this word in passing a couple of days ago. I was startled by it. It's not that I didn't know what the speaker was talking about. I assume they meant 'jeans' or 'Levis'. What struck me was that it was a word I hadn't heard for quite awhile, though it seemed to be much commoner in my childhood.
As a child I just absorbed it with all the other words for things. It's only now that I think "Dungarees? Where in the world does that one come from?"
For entertainment value, I suppose I should guess before researching. For some reason I keep thinking of one of those Australian songs we learned in childhood, "Waltzing Matilda", probably because it comes from the same era as 'dungarees' in my life, and partly because it contained a lot of strange words I hadn't heard before--swagman, billabong, etc. I don't think this word is Australian, though. So I'll hazard a wager on it being yet another word that the invading Europeans stole from the native peoples. I think they call them "loan" words.
Time to find out the truth...
Well, what do you know? We've got another entry from India, folks! Turns out that 'dungaree' is based on a rough calico sort of cloth that was originally made in Dongari Kilda in Bombay/Mumbai. It was a poorer grade, loosely woven kind of cloth, and was often used as sailcloth. Sailors then recycled old sails to make clothing from it. Hence, dungarees.
It's also no surprise then, since this all stems back to a kind of cloth rather than a kind of clothes, that in some places, like western America, dungarees were synonymous with jeans, while in others, like England, and maybe Australia, dungarees meant overalls, because presumably that's what the cloth was sewn into,
I was comforted but still perplexed to read through various blog posts and find that other Americans also remember dungarees as a common reference in the fifties and sixties, but not used so much now. It's a shame, really, because it's a nice word that's traveled a long way to meet us.
...a few notes of clarification. I misread when I called it Dongari Kilda--it's Dongari or Dongri Killa, which apparently means Fort Dongari or something like that, as the British replaced it with Fort George in 1769.
A couple of other fabric names that I've since gotten curious about: denim, that trusty American cloth actually stems from serge de Nimes, Nimes being the French town where this heavy serge was first made. And blue jeans, which are practically as American as apple pie. Sorry, friend--these hail from Genoa, and 'jeans' is a transposition of the French word for that fair city. Blue stems from the indigo that was used as dye for several of these fabrics, though, the significance of that I have as yet to, ahem, unravel...
As a child I just absorbed it with all the other words for things. It's only now that I think "Dungarees? Where in the world does that one come from?"
For entertainment value, I suppose I should guess before researching. For some reason I keep thinking of one of those Australian songs we learned in childhood, "Waltzing Matilda", probably because it comes from the same era as 'dungarees' in my life, and partly because it contained a lot of strange words I hadn't heard before--swagman, billabong, etc. I don't think this word is Australian, though. So I'll hazard a wager on it being yet another word that the invading Europeans stole from the native peoples. I think they call them "loan" words.
Time to find out the truth...
Well, what do you know? We've got another entry from India, folks! Turns out that 'dungaree' is based on a rough calico sort of cloth that was originally made in Dongari Kilda in Bombay/Mumbai. It was a poorer grade, loosely woven kind of cloth, and was often used as sailcloth. Sailors then recycled old sails to make clothing from it. Hence, dungarees.
It's also no surprise then, since this all stems back to a kind of cloth rather than a kind of clothes, that in some places, like western America, dungarees were synonymous with jeans, while in others, like England, and maybe Australia, dungarees meant overalls, because presumably that's what the cloth was sewn into,
I was comforted but still perplexed to read through various blog posts and find that other Americans also remember dungarees as a common reference in the fifties and sixties, but not used so much now. It's a shame, really, because it's a nice word that's traveled a long way to meet us.
...a few notes of clarification. I misread when I called it Dongari Kilda--it's Dongari or Dongri Killa, which apparently means Fort Dongari or something like that, as the British replaced it with Fort George in 1769.
A couple of other fabric names that I've since gotten curious about: denim, that trusty American cloth actually stems from serge de Nimes, Nimes being the French town where this heavy serge was first made. And blue jeans, which are practically as American as apple pie. Sorry, friend--these hail from Genoa, and 'jeans' is a transposition of the French word for that fair city. Blue stems from the indigo that was used as dye for several of these fabrics, though, the significance of that I have as yet to, ahem, unravel...
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Posts
Seana
ReplyDeleteGotta say, I'm kind of amazed you've never heard of dungarees. Its what pa's wearing under his jacket in American Gothic. I suppose its a Britishism really. Just dont do a post about the meaning of "lorries".
I have ceased being surprised by the V word, however this one caught my eye: ladydi
Come on, who are they fooling? That's not random.
I have heard of dungarees. It is the part about it passing from the common usage in my lifetime that surprises me. I expect it won't be the last surprise of this kind.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately.
I feel that Princess Di might understand, if only she were still around.
Also, in America, those are called overalls. Pretty much universally.
ReplyDeleteNext up, my post on the meaning of lorries.
Seana
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of a boiler suit? My dad wore one to work and its sort of like dungarees but also has sleeves. I have no idea what they are called in America. If they even have a name.
I have heard of a boiler suit, but I think it may only have been in reading British fiction. And somehow a kind of boiled suit is what has always come to mind, so thanks for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what they are called in America. If they even have a name.
ReplyDeletecoveralls.
Thank you Marco. That is correct, though you are an unlikely source on American usage. Or would be, if you weren't you.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I think in my youth I only ever heard "dungarees" on American television or in American books. We never used the word in my part of Canada, and I never liked it, maybe because it always reminded me of dung.
ReplyDelete==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Dung. I hadn't thought of that. I think in my childhood, it was more mothers who called them that, and I have the suspicion that it was supposed to elevate them from the status of mere blue jeans. Especially for girls. But I have to say that I didn't hear it all that often either.
ReplyDeleteThey have been jeans to me always, and they always will be. I learned from this post, however, that they may denote or once have denoted what I know as overalls. I confess my ignorance.
ReplyDelete==============
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/</a
When Ricky Shroeder, the famous blond actor, was a child, he commented in a tv interview that he wore dungarees while at home in Manhattan. I was a pre-teen then. The word stuck with me. I figured that rich children wore them. But I can't recall hearing it at any other time.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, because I think my mome used the word, and she came from a well to do Santa Monica community, while I don't think my dad who grew up a farm boy ever did. It's interesting that a word for what was basically was cheap cloth eventually seems to have become a bit rarified. though apparently not across the pond.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, by the way!
Seana,
ReplyDeleteYou have *four* blogs? When do you eat sleep or work??
It sounds much more impressive than it really is. More sensible people usually have one blog and then rotate themes. I somehow didn't want to do this, or it wasn't the way I thought about blogging.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if you look closely, you will find that all four combined really don't amount to as much work as one blog by someone who really keeps on it. As I'm not looking to build an audience, and in fact really have no idea why I write them at all, it doesn't really matter how often I post.
This one seems to be by far the most popular, by which I mean anyone who has ever read them always picks this one as the one they like most. Which is fortunate, as ignorance seems to provide me with a bottomless well of material.