Pajamas — Lexography

Location not yet researched. No suitable pinned Classical Persian language reference row with coordinates is used; the form remains unmapped.

Journey of meaning

4 forms

Separate contributor

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The pajamas journey, in text

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پایجامه · Classical Persian
noun · Classical Persian
Transliteration: pāyjāma
Leg garment; archaic form alongside پاجامه.. Leg garment; archaic form alongside پاجامه.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Location not yet researched — No suitable pinned Classical Persian language reference row with coordinates is used; the form remains unmapped.
English pyjamas is traced through Hindi/Urdu to Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic پاجامه (pājāma). English > Etymology
Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) is a borrowing from Classical Persian پایجامه and is an alternative form of पाजामा. Hindi > Etymology and Noun
Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas. English > Etymology
पैजामा · Hindi
noun · Hindi
Transliteration: paijāmā
A pajama or loose leg garment; alternative form of पाजामा.. A pajama or loose leg garment; alternative form of पाजामा.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Hindi reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English pyjamas is traced through Hindi/Urdu to Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic پاجامه (pājāma). English > Etymology
Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) is a borrowing from Classical Persian پایجامه and is an alternative form of पाजामा. Hindi > Etymology and Noun
Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas. English > Etymology
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports 1800 pai jamahs for loose trousers tied at the waist, worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear. pajamas(n.)
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi. LanguageTable row hind1269
پائِجامَہ · Urdu
noun · Urdu
Transliteration: pāijāma
A pajama or loose leg garment.. A pajama or loose leg garment.
Date not yet researched — No word-specific date established in the inspected sources.
Urdu reference region — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
English pyjamas is traced through Hindi/Urdu to Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic پاجامه (pājāma). English > Etymology
Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas. English > Etymology
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports 1800 pai jamahs for loose trousers tied at the waist, worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear. pajamas(n.)
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Urdu. LanguageTable row urdu1245
pajamas · English
noun · English
Reading: puh-JAH-muhz
A plural-only noun for clothing worn for sleeping; British spelling pyjamas.. A plural-only noun for clothing worn for sleeping; British spelling pyjamas.
1800 · pai jamahs context — Reported English context for the borrowed garment term; not the first use of the modern spelling or proof of a completed sense shift.
English reference region / Britain — Glottolog language reference point; not an origin, borrowing site or territorial boundary.
Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) is a borrowing from Classical Persian پایجامه and is an alternative form of पाजामा. Hindi > Etymology and Noun
Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas. English > Etymology
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports 1800 pai jamahs for loose trousers tied at the waist, worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear. pajamas(n.)
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports the modern U.S. spelling by 1845 and British spelling tending toward pyjamas. pajamas(n.)
English pyjamas is a plural-only noun for sleepwear, with an attributive pyjama form. English > Noun
The English entry records Received Pronunciation /pɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/ and South Asian variants. English > Pronunciation
Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English. LanguageTable row stan1293

Relationships

pāyjāma → paijāmā: borrowing, documented. Hindi पैजामा is described as borrowed from Classical Persian پایجامه. English > Etymology Hindi > Etymology and Noun

pāyjāma → pāijāma: borrowing, qualified. Urdu is a parallel Hindustani contributor; the inspected source does not date this branch separately. English > Etymology English > Etymology

paijāmā → pajamas: borrowing, documented. English is described as borrowed from Hindustani, represented here by Hindi and Urdu forms. English clothing sense: The date and spelling evidence are kept separate from the semantic specialization. Hindi > Etymology and Noun English > Etymology pajamas(n.)

pāijāma → pajamas: borrowing, alternative. Urdu is retained as a possible immediate Indic contributor without choosing it over Hindi. English > Etymology pajamas(n.)

Inspect the evidence 10 claims

Open a claim to follow the source and our interpretation.

01English pyjamas is traced through Hindi/Urdu to Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic پاجامه (pājāma).
Source
Wiktionary — pyjamasWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Etymology
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English pyjamas is traced through Hindi/Urdu to Classical Persian پایجامه (pāyjāma), archaic پاجامه (pājāma).
English > Etymology
Qualification Source-supported
The inspected entry supports the lexical route; it does not date the Persian form or every garment practice.
What Lexography infers
Keep the Persian source forms and later Indic forms distinct.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
02Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) is a borrowing from Classical Persian پایجامه and is an alternative form of पाजामा.
Source
Wiktionary — पैजामाWiktionary contributorsHindi > Etymology and Noun
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
Hindi पैजामा (paijāmā) is a borrowing from Classical Persian پایجامه and is an alternative form of पाजामा.
Hindi > Etymology and Noun
Qualification Source-supported
The Hindi page supplies a present-day lexical form; historical pronunciation is not projected backward.
What Lexography infers
Preserve Devanagari and the transliteration as separate fields.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
03Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas.
Source
Wiktionary — pyjamasWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Etymology
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
Urdu پائِجامَہ (pāijāma) is listed alongside Hindi as the Hindustani source of English pyjamas.
English > Etymology
Qualification Source-supported
The source groups Hindi and Urdu as the borrowing environment; it does not establish which Indic form was the immediate English donor.
What Lexography infers
Keep Hindi and Urdu as parallel contributors rather than inventing a single donor.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
04The Online Etymology Dictionary reports 1800 pai jamahs for loose trousers tied at the waist, worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear.
Source
Pajamas — EtymologyOnline Etymology Dictionarypajamas(n.)
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports 1800 pai jamahs for loose trousers tied at the waist, worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans there, especially for nightwear.
pajamas(n.)
Qualification Qualified
The date is a secondary lexical-history report and the spelling is not the later standardized U.S. form.
What Lexography infers
Use the date as a documented English context for the borrowed garment word.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
05The Online Etymology Dictionary reports the modern U.S. spelling by 1845 and British spelling tending toward pyjamas.
Source
Pajamas — EtymologyOnline Etymology Dictionarypajamas(n.)
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The Online Etymology Dictionary reports the modern U.S. spelling by 1845 and British spelling tending toward pyjamas.
pajamas(n.)
Qualification Qualified
Spelling variation is not a separate etymology or a pronunciation reconstruction.
What Lexography infers
Expose pajamas/pyjamas as supported aliases and keep spelling separate from sound.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
06English pyjamas is a plural-only noun for sleepwear, with an attributive pyjama form.
Source
Wiktionary — pyjamasWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Noun
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
English pyjamas is a plural-only noun for sleepwear, with an attributive pyjama form.
English > Noun
Qualification Qualified
The current dictionary sense does not by itself date the shift from loose trousers in South Asia to English sleepwear.
What Lexography infers
Show the English sleepwear specialization with an explicit semantic-change record.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
07The English entry records Received Pronunciation /pɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/ and South Asian variants.
Source
Wiktionary — pyjamasWiktionary contributorsEnglish > Pronunciation
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The English entry records Received Pronunciation /pɪˈd͡ʒɑːməz/ and South Asian variants.
English > Pronunciation
Qualification Source-supported
The cited section supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0 / GFDL; current page inspected, attributed summaries only; no full article redistributed.
08Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Hindi.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row hind1269
Source passage
Reference record
hind1269 · Hindi · Latitude 25.0 · Longitude 77.0
LanguageTable row hind1269; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Hindi reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
09Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for Urdu.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row urdu1245
Source passage
Reference record
urdu1245 · Urdu · Latitude 25.0 · Longitude 67.0
LanguageTable row urdu1245; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient Urdu reference region; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation
10Glottolog supplies the reference coordinates for English.
Source
Glottolog 5.3 — language reference coordinatesHammarström, Forkel, Haspelmath & Bank; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLanguageTable row stan1293
Source passage
Reference record
stan1293 · English · Latitude 53.0 · Longitude -1.0
LanguageTable row stan1293; Name, Latitude, Longitude
Qualification Reference only
Language reference coordinates, not a word origin, borrowing site, historical territory or population distribution.
What Lexography infers
Use this point only to orient English reference region / Britain; no historical movement is inferred.
Checked 2026-09-11 · revision 072ca0d0410039fb8b779be8fc165bac575d2cda. CC BY 4.0; selected coordinates, rounded for regional orientation