Eponym Series: Jodhpurs
Hello,
Longtime Wordfoolery readers will remember that I sometimes blog on specific types of words – one being eponyms, and the other being nautical words (and I reserve the right to start another series someday). The eponym series inspired me to create the first Wordfoolery book in fact (available on Amazon US, Amazon DE, and all these other spots).
I have discovered it is impossible to be complete with any book about words. New words gain currency everyday plus it’s tremendously easy to miss a word which should be in the book despite spending at least a year (and in most cases several years) assembling my word list. This has proven to be particularly true with eponyms. I’m still gathering them and it’s not a short list. One day perhaps I’ll do a second volume on the subject, or launch a much expanded second edition, but in the meantime, here’s one of the ones I missed.
Jodhpurs entered the English language in 1899 as “jodhpur riding-breeches”, gradually changed spelling to be jodpores in 1912, and later settled as jodhpurs. They’re technically both a toponym (a word named for a place, such as paisley, turkey, or derby) and an eponym (a word named for a person, such as boycott, casanova, or montessori). They’re named after Jodhpur, a city in northwestern India. Nowadays Jodhpur is the second largest city in Rajasthan but it was historically the capital of the Kingdom of Marwar.
Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha (1416-1489), a successful clan chief who also founded the kingdom of Marwar The city, and ultimately the riding trousers, are both named for him.
Jodhpurs are tight-fitting pants, with baggy fit over the thighs that horse riders wear. Jodhpurs originated in the city around the 1890s and were based on a traditional style of trousers called the churidar which are tight at the calf and baggy at the hips which are still worn to Jodhpuri weddings.
The arrival of jodhpurs to the English language was thanks to Sir Pratap Singh, the younger son of the Maharaja of Jodhpur. He had altered the traditional design somewhat around 1890 in India but when he visited Queen Victoria in 1897 for her Diamond Jubilee celebrations he brought along his polo team and their new riding trousers caused a sensation, probably helped by the large number of polo matches they won.
The British polo community were swift to merge Singh’s design with their own riding breeches and Savile Row tailors were soon creating these jodhpurs for their clients.
Until next time happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,
Grace (@Wordfoolery)
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