chones n.pl. underwear, especially undershorts or panties. Also chonies, choners. Editorial Note: Despite its proximity to a mention of lingerie, chonies in the 1928 citation is probably a typographical error for chorines. Etymological Note: (Mexican) Spanish slang chones, perhaps from the Mexican Spanish calzones ‘underwear’ or less probably from the English long johns. The Oxford English Dictionary includes a 1717 first citation for poncho from Frezier’s Voyage to the South Sea in which Chony appears; however, it may be unrelated: “The Spaniards have taken up the Use of the Chony, or Poncho…to ride in, because the Poncho keeps out the Rain.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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