sweater English · revision 39702

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=a1529, J. Skelton, The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈswɛtə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈswɛtɚ/, /-ɾɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|sweat|-er]] in English, an agent noun from the verb,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016) in Middle English [[m|enm|swētere]].^(Wiktionary) Johnson (1755) explained it the same way.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who works hard, a toiler: a1529, in John Skelton's ''Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline also dates this sense to the 1520s and Dictionary.com to 1520–30,^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) while Merriam-Webster gives the 15th century for its first sense, one that sweats.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The literal sense, a person who perspires, is recorded from 1562, in William Bullein's medical writings,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) and Johnson (1755) gives only this sense: "One who sweats".^(Johnson 1755) From 1684 the word also meant a medicine that brings on sweating.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In the early 18th century ''sweaters'' were London street ruffians who bullied passers-by into "sweating", a usage recorded from 1712 in Steele's ''Spectator''.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The sense "employer or middleman who overworks and underpays his workers" belongs to the 1840s and the vocabulary of the [[sweatshop]]: Etymonline finds it by 1843 and the OED and Green's in the ''Manchester Guardian'' of 1846.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) The garment grew out of athletic training: from 1828 ''sweaters'' were the clothes in which a man or a horse was exercised to sweat off weight,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) while by 1882 the singular meant a woollen vest or jersey worn by rowers and other athletes, originally to lose weight and later to keep warm before or after exercise.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Etymonline thinks it was established as a fashion garment for women by about 1920, and dates ''sweater girl'' to 1939, a nickname for Lana Turner after her appearance in a tight sweater in the film ''They Won't Forget''.^(Etymonline) In Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire dialect a ''sweater'' was a hard or troublesome job,^(Wright 1898) a colloquial sense the OED records from 1851 and Green's from 1832.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a1529 – one who works hard.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1562 – one who sweats or perspires.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1629 – a variety of pear (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1684 – a medicine that causes sweating.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1712 – one of a gang of London street ruffians.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1828 – plural, clothes for sweating off weight in training.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1846 – an employer who overworks and underpays his workers.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+ * 1851 – (colloquial) a job that makes one sweat.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1882 – a woollen jersey worn for rowing and other exercise.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1900 – (Winchester College slang) a servant.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A knitted or crocheted [[garment]] for the upper body, usually with long sleeves, worn for warmth; a [[pullover]] or [[cardigan]]: ''He pulled on a thick sweater before walking the dog.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+ # A person or thing that [[sweat|alt=sweats]], especially heavily.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD 2024)

+ # An [[employer]] who overworks and underpays his or her workers.^(Collins 2023)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+ # A medicine that causes sweating; a [[sudorific]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sweaterdress]]

+ * [[sweater girl]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sweat]]

+ * [[sweatshop]]

+ * [[jersey]]

+ * [[jumper]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}