galluses

galluses — noun

1. a pair of cloth or elastic straps worn over both shoulders and attached to the f

1.nounC2
Definition

a pair of cloth or elastic straps worn over both shoulders and attached to the front and back of trousers or pants so that they stay up

Example

Lin fastened his galluses over his shoulders before heading to work at the construction site.

fastened his galluses over his shoulders

The shop assistant showed them a rack of galluses in red, blue, and striped patterns.

a rack of galluses

Common collocations
  • a pair of galluses
  • wear galluses
  • fasten / button / clip one's galluses
  • leather / striped / red galluses
  • galluses + hold up [trousers]
Synonyms
  • suspenders

    the standard modern American English term

  • braces

    the standard British English term for the same garment

Grammar Patterns

galluses + plural verb

a pair of galluses + singular verb

Usage Note

Galluses is a dialectal or informal term that is much less common than the standard American word suspenders or the British word braces. It is most often used in older rural American speech or in historical fiction.

Common Mistakes

He wore a gallus over one shoulder.
He wore a pair of galluses over his shoulders.
galluses is always plural, like trousers or scissors, and is often used with pair of.

Word family

  • gallus
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three words refer to the same garment — straps worn over the shoulders to hold trousers up — but they differ by region and register. Suspenders is the neutral, everyday American English term, used in shops, clothing catalogues, and general conversation. Braces is the equivalent standard term in British English. Galluses is a dialectal and informal American word, found mostly in older rural speech, folk tales, and historical writing. For instance, a modern department-store worker in New York would say 'we sell suspenders,' while a character in a Mark Twain story might say 'my galluses come loose.' Learners should use suspenders in American contexts and braces in British ones; galluses is useful mainly for understanding regional dialogue and older texts.

suspenders ↗braces ↗galluses ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • a pair of galluses

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishScotsEnglish

Galluses is a dialectal variant of the word gallows, which comes from Old English galga meaning 'a frame for hanging things.' The shift in meaning — from a hanging frame to shoulder straps that 'hang' trousers — happened in Scottish and northern English dialects in the 1800s. Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the word to North America, where it still survives in rural and old-fashioned speech.

First known use

1836

1836, in the meaning defined above