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Where does the word "pyjamas" come from? It comes from Persian pāy-jāma, passing through Urdu/Hindi before entering English (1800s).
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Where does the word "pyjamas" come from? It comes from Persian pāy-jāma, passing through Urdu/Hindi before entering English (1800s).
Pyjamas’s story begins in Persian: pāy-jāma meant “leg garment.” Literally "leg garment", loose trousers tied at the waist. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Urdu/Hindi as pajama. Worn widely across South Asia as everyday dress. It reached English by 1800s as pyjamas. British residents in India adopted them as comfortable sleepwear. Today, pyjamas means a loose, lightweight set of garments worn for sleeping.
- Stage 1 · Persian · medieval pāy-jāma "leg garment", literally "leg garment", loose trousers tied at the waist.
- Stage 2 · Urdu/Hindi · medieval pajama "loose trousers", worn widely across South Asia as everyday dress.
- Stage 3 · Anglo-Indian English · 1800s pyjamas "loose sleeping trousers", British residents in India adopted them as comfortable sleepwear.