Braccae (or bracae) is the Latin term for "trousers", and in this context is today used to refer to a style of trousers made from wool. According to the Romans, this style of clothing originated from the Gauls.[Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica]
Braccae were typically made with a drawstring, and tended to reach from just above the knee at the shortest, to the ankles at the longest, with length generally increasing in tribes living further north.
For the Roman Empire, to encircle the legs and thighs with fasciae, or bands, was understood, in the time of Pompey and Horace, to be a proof of ill health and effeminacy.
Etymology
The word originates from the
Gaulish language bhrāg-ikā, after going through a process of syncopation it gave rise to braca "trouser, pants".
The word is
cognate with the English
breeches. It appears to derive from the Indo-European root
bhrg- "break", here apparently used in the sense "divide", "separate", as in
Scottish Gaelic briogais ("trousers"), in
Breton language bragoù ("pants"), in
Irish language bríste
("trousers"), brycan/brogau in
Welsh Language and in
Dutch language broek ("trousers"). The Celtic form may have first passed to the Etruscan language, which did not distinguish between the and sounds.
[Compare other possible examples of transition through Etruscan: Greek ἀμόργη (amorge) being rendered as Latin amurca, Greek κυβερνᾶν (kubernân) as Latin gubernare.]
Bibliography
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Collis, John (2003). The Celts: Origins, Myths, Inventions, Tempus.
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Wells, Peter S (2001). Beyond Celts, Germans and Scythians, Duckworth Debates in Archaeology.
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Oppenheimer, Stephen (2006). The Origins of the British, Constable & Robinson.
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Hazel Dodge, Peter Connolly: Die antike Stadt. Ein Leben in Athen und Rom. . Kapitel Kleidung.
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August Mau: Ἀναξυρίδες. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Band I, 2, Stuttgart 1893ff., Sp. 2100 f.
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James Yates: Bracae. In: William Smith: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. John Murray, London 1875, S. 213 ( online)
