tightsn.
/tʌɪts/ With plural agreement.
a. Tight-fitting breeches, worn by men in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and still forming part of court-dress.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > close-fitting
overall1776
pantaloon1798
tights1827
jeans1843
stovepipe1863
strides1889
drainpipe1950
Capri pants1956
toreador pants1956
yoga pants1973
leggings1977
1827 M. Wilmot Let. 24 May (1935) 260 His [sc. a jockey's] shirt-collar was open, so were the knees of his ‘tights’.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple II. xii. 199 The frill of his shirt..extending from his collar to the waistband of his nankeen tights, which were finished off at his knees with ohuge bunches of ribbon.
1857 C. Dickens Let. 17 Aug. (1995) VIII. 412 A pair of common nankeen tights to button below the calf.
1881 W. S. Gilbert Foggerty's Fairy i. 13 If tights and trunks came in again.
1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown xii. 159 Today flannel underwear is almost as obsolete as the long black equestrian tights, high-necked, long-sleeved nightgowns for women, and the heavily-lined trousers of the working men of a generation ago.
b. Garments of thin elastic material, fitting tight to the skin, worn by dancers, acrobats, and others to facilitate their movements or display the form; skin-tights. Sometimes covering the whole body, but usually the legs only.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > clothing for body and limbs
tights1836
altogethers1913
onesie2004
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > tights > types of
chausses1484
leggings1809
tights1836
maillot1876
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 270 None of the performers could walk in their tights, or move their arms in their jackets.
1845 A. Smith Fortunes Scattergood Fam. III. ii. 27 Gentlemen in flesh tights jumped over strips of cloth, coming down on the horse again.
1897 Times 4 Oct. 8/1 [She] would be well advised to abandon her tights and resume the garb of her sex.
c. A woman's or girl's one-piece stretchable garment covering the legs and body up to the waist, worn in place of stockings; formerly an undergarment taking the place of knickers and stockings.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > tights
tights1897
pantyhose1959
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > underwear > [noun] > underpants > for women (and children) > underpants and stockings combined
tights1897
pantyhose1959
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 241/2 Ladies' summer drawers and tights..Ladies' fine jersey ribbed fast black open summer tights,..knee length.
1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 962 Wool and fleece lined underwear for children..Union suits, tights and sleeping garments.
1965 P. O'Donnell Modesty Blaise ix. 105 Modesty wore..a full black skirt, with black stretch tights.
1967 Vogue 15 Oct. 16 (advt.) For 12/11 you can treat yourself to Pantihose seam tights.
1970 Focus June 9/2 Invented ten years ago, tights (or pantie-hose) gained ground with the advent of the mini-skirt in 1968.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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n.1827