hoodie

Etymology

It is formed from English hood¹ + -ie, from the noun meaning a covering for the head, with the diminutive or familiar suffix also spelled -y;^[2][3][4][5] the OED compares hooded.^[2] The name of the garment is a shortening of “hooded sweatshirt”.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The hooded crow, named for its dark head: 1789, in D. Davidson's Thoughts on Seasons, as cited in Jamieson's dictionary.^[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

As the name of a bird it is Scottish and northern: the English Dialect Dictionary records it in Scotland, Northumberland, Yorkshire and Norfolk for the hooded crow, and also for the carrion crow.^[8] Merriam-Webster also has a British dialect use for the black-headed gull.^[4] The garment sense is a fresh formation of the late 20th century: the OED's first record is from R. Doyle's The Snapper (1990),^[2][7] and Merriam-Webster dates it to 1992.^[4] Green's dictionary calls it originally American and links it with the clothes of young people in rap music.^[7] From 1991, in British and Irish use, a hoodie was also a young person wearing one, seen as a likely troublemaker, and hence a thug.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1789 – the hooded crow.^[2][4]
• 1990 – a hooded sweatshirt.^[2][7]
• 1991 – a young person wearing a hoodie, seen as disruptive.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sweatshirt or other top with a hood: She pulled up the hood of her hoodie against the rain.^[9][4][2]
2. (chiefly British, informal) A young person who wears such a top, regarded as a likely hooligan.^[9][2]
3. (Scotland and northern England) The hooded crow; also the carrion crow.^[4][2][8]

Related words

• hood
• hooded

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
8. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins