Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Strong leather breeches or overalls worn by horsemen, particularly by cow-boys, in the Western States, for protection against bushes and thorns. Generally abbreviated to chaps.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chaps (trousers)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish

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Examples

  • "chaparejos," the hair trousers of the mountain cowboy, the pistol holster low on the thigh.

    The Octopus : A story of California Frank Norris 1886

  • He had seen the end of gold and the end of the buffalo, the beginning of cattle, the beginning of wheat, and the spreading of the barbed-wire fence, that, in the end, will take from him his occupation and his revolver, his chaparejos and his usefulness, his lariat and his reason for being.

    The Passing of Cock-Eye Blacklock 1995

  • He was wearing full, sweeping chaparejos, and on the blaze-faced roan he rode was a high-horned

    The Pride of Hannah Wade Janet Dailey 1985

  • He was wearing full, sweeping chaparejos, and on the blaze-faced roan he rode was a high-horned

    The Pride of Hannah Wade Janet Dailey 1985

  • To protect our legs we wore over the trousers heavy leather chaparejos, sometimes of bear or buffalo hide.

    Ranching, Sport and Travel Thomas Carson

  • The municipally chartered pack-train, with cooks and supplies for man and beast, numbered over sixty animals, and chaparejos and cowboys, real and near, were numerous.

    A Backward Glance at Eighty Murdock, Charles A 1921

  • In the store the long shelves upon one side held dry-goods, while upon the opposite shelves a miscellany of groceries was displayed; toward the rear was the storekeeper's assortment of hardware near a counter piled high with sweaters, boots, chaparejos, all jumbled hopelessly.

    Man to Man Jackson Gregory 1912

  • Miranda's caravan started an hour later, she driving, Mormon and Sam in the back, each dressed in his best, minus chaparejos and spurs, but otherwise most typically the cowboy and therefore out of place -- and feeling it -- as they sat stiffly in the leatherette-lined tonneau.

    Rimrock Trail 1906

  • Ignoring the water, it came straight to Sandy, uttered a harsh whine, catching at the leather tassel on the cowman's worn leather chaparejos, tugging feebly.

    Rimrock Trail 1906

  • A minute later, to Nancy's vast displeasure, Genevieve was ushering into the sitting room a sandy-haired man in full cowboy costume from broad-brimmed hat and flannel shirt to chaparejos and high-heeled boots.

    The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch 1894

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