Why is it that the smallest unit of pants (or jeans, shorts, etc.) is called a "pair"? Maybe, you might say, it's because a pair of pants has two legs. It might be like "a pair of scissors" and "a pair of pliers"; they both have two leg-like parts.
But, we speak of a pair of men's briefs—which has no legs at all.
Having come from people who were involved in the garment trade, I think I recall that in that business they might speak of "a pant."
Otherwise, it's just one of many, many little anomalies of English; and I'm pretty sure other languages have theirs, too.
Copyright © 2011 by Richard Stein
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