如今逛商场，你会发现很有品牌都有Denim系列专区，或者在牛仔裤上都印有Denim。这个Denim到底是什么意思呢？

Denim is a strong usually blue cotton cloth that is used especially to make jeans.

“丹宁布”是用来做牛仔裤的蓝色棉布。

也就是说，denim就是牛仔布的意思，而jeans一般来说是牛仔裤的意思。Denim系列即牛仔系列，包括牛仔裤、牛仔裙、牛仔衬衫等一切使用牛仔布制成的衣物；而jeans则仅指休闲穿着的牛仔裤装，但jeans即可以由denim（丹宁布）制成，也掺有lycra（莱卡）等布料。

Denim, the all-American fabric, actually gets its name from the French words de Nĭmes meaning "of Nĭmes," because it was manufactured in the French city of Nĭmes.

丹宁布这种典型的美国布料其实得名于法语“de Nĭmes”，意为“Nĭmes的”，因为它是在法国城市Nĭmes生产的。

The word "jeans" comes from the French phrase "bleu de Genes" meaning "the blue of Genoa" because they were made for the Genoese Navy. It required robust trousers for its sailors that could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could easily be rolled up to wear while swabbing the deck.

Jeans一词则来源于法语“bleu de Genes”，意为“热内亚之蓝”，因为牛仔裤最初是设计给热内亚海军穿的。他们要求设计出一种无论潮湿还是干燥的状态下都很耐磨的裤子，而且擦洗甲板时裤脚要很容易卷上去。

（中国日报网英语点津 祝兴媛）