dress pants

English

Alternative forms

• dress-pants, dresspants

Noun

dress pants pl (plural only)

1. Formal pants (i.e., trousers).
   • 1849, H[enry] F. M^cKillop, Reminiscences of Twelve Months’ Service in New Zealand as a Midshipman, During the Late Disturbances in That Colony, London: Richard Bentley, […], page 38:

     […] this ended in a sad catastrophe happening to his blue dress pants, which could not stand the repeated tests of strength they were put to.

   • 1851 October, “Reedyrill. V.—The Pigeon Roost.”, in Thomas Prentice Kettell, editor, The United States Magazine, and Democratic Review, volume XXIX, New York, N.Y.: Kettell & Moore, page 337:

     I wore a pair of buckskin moccasins coming up to my knees, and a smock frock of Kentucky jeans, as did the most of us, except Montmery, who had been making visits that day, and came off in a hurry with a pair of black doeskin dress pants, strapped down over patent leather pumps; […]

   • 2007, Jeanette Henderson, Roy Henderson, There’s No Such Thing as Public Speaking: Make Any Presentation or Speech as Persuasive as a One-on-One Conversation, →ISBN:

     When your Reactor is in jeans, you should wear dress pants or a casual dress. When your Reactor is in dress pants, you should be wearing a nice suit or a more tailored dress, and so on.

Coordinate terms

• dress shirt
• dress shoe

Translations

formal pants

• Finnish: puvunhousut