Informal term for underwear or undergarments worn beneath outer clothing. A colloquial and often playful way to refer to intimate apparel.
A playful shortening and pluralization of 'underwear' that emerged in the early 20th century. The '-ies' ending follows the pattern of other informal clothing terms like 'panties' or 'nighties'. The casual, diminutive suffix makes the term sound less formal and more approachable than clinical terms for undergarments.
The word 'undies' demonstrates how English creates comfortable euphemisms for potentially embarrassing topics - the playful '-ies' ending makes underwear sound cute rather than clinical or crude. It's part of a whole family of clothing words that use this diminutive pattern, showing how we linguistically soften intimate or childlike concepts.
Diminutive language ('undies') applied disproportionately to women's intimate wear, infantilizing adult bodies and normalizing sexualization of women's clothing.
Use 'underwear' or specific garment terms ('briefs,' 'boxer shorts') for neutral reference. Avoid diminutives in formal or professional contexts.
["underwear","briefs","undergarments"]
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