Etymologically
Log in

swimsuit

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word swimsuit

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1920
Ultimate origins
Old English swimmanAnglo-Norman siwte
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English swim
English swimsuit

Pronunciation

  • /ˈswɪm.s(j)ut/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English swim + suit,[2][3][4] a commercial word in which swim has the notion "worn while swimming".[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A woman's bathing costume: 1920, according to Etymonline.[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1926 as its first known use,[5][6] Dictionary.com dates it to 1925–30,[3] and the OED's first quotation is from the Times of 18 July 1934.[7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that swimming-costume in the same sense is recorded by 1844, long before swimsuit.[2] The word was first used of women's costumes,[2][7] and Collins still defines it as a woman's one-piece garment that leaves the arms and legs bare;[8] American dictionaries define it more broadly as any garment worn for swimming.[9][6][5]

Timeline

  • 1920 – a woman's bathing costume.[2]
  • 1926 – a suit for swimming or bathing.[5][6]
  • 1934 – a woman's bathing costume, in the Times.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A garment worn for swimming; a bathing suit: He packed a swimsuit and a towel for the lake.[9][6][5]
  2. Especially, a woman's one-piece swimming garment that leaves the arms and legs bare; a maillot.[8][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Swimsuit.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/swimsuit. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·