Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Underwear has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
undergarment worn next to the skin and under the outer garments
"I forgot my favorite pair of underwear before leaving for the beach, so I had to borrow a friend's shorts."
Clothes worn next to the skin, underneath outer clothing.
"She quickly pulled on her fresh underwear before getting dressed for work."
In plain English: Underwear is the clothing you wear directly against your skin, usually under your regular clothes.
"She packed her underwear for the long trip."
Usage: Underwear refers specifically to garments like briefs or panties designed to be worn directly against the skin beneath other clothes. Use this term when discussing intimate apparel rather than general undergarments such as undershirts or vests.
The word underwear is a straightforward compound formed from the prefix under- and the noun wear. It entered English by combining these two existing elements to describe clothing worn beneath other garments.