English hose shrank to mean just stockings while German Hose grew to mean full trousers — the same word took opposite evolutionary paths in two languages.
Stockings, socks, and tights collectively; the knitted or woven garments worn on the feet and legs.
From hose (from Old English hosa, meaning leg covering, legging) plus the suffix -iery (denoting a class of goods or a place of business). Old English hosa derives from Proto-Germanic *husō (covering, sheath). Key roots: *husō (Proto-Germanic: "covering, sheath").
The word hose originally meant a full leg covering — essentially what we would call tights or leggings. Medieval "hose" covered the entire leg and were the standard male lower garment for centuries. When separate legs of hose were joined at the top, they eventually evolved into what we now call trousers. In German, the cognate