jersey English · revision 4048

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=eponym|attested=1583}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈdʒɜː.zi/, US /ˈdʒɝː.zi/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is named after [[Jersey]], the largest of the Channel Islands,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD 2000) where the knitting of worsted goods was a staple industry.^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline reports that the island's name is said to be a corruption of Latin Caesarea, the Roman name for it or for a neighbouring island, influenced by Old English ēg “island”, but that it may rather be a Viking name, perhaps “Geirr's island”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of Jersey, or of Jersey worsted, used before another noun: 1583.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) Knitted Jersey work, Jersey worsted, and then worsted in general follows in 1587,^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and combed wool ready for spinning in 1657, a sense now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the fabric the word passed to the garment: a close-fitting knitted woollen tunic is recorded from 1836–48,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) 1845 in Etymonline, especially one worn for sports.^(Etymonline) By 1889 a ''blue jersey'' was a seaman or bargee.^(OED 1989) The breed of dairy cattle from the island is a separate allusion to it, recorded from 1842.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In American English, Jersey has also been short for New Jersey since 1758.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In northern and Midland English dialects, as far south as Somerset, jersey or jarsey meant combed wool or worsted.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1583 – of Jersey worsted.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1587 – Jersey knitted work; worsted.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1758 – short for New Jersey.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1836–48 – a knitted tunic.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1842 – a breed of cattle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A soft, plain-[[knit]] fabric used for clothing, or a garment made of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A close-fitting knitted [[pullover]] shirt or [[sweater]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A shirt worn by a member of a sports team, often with a number.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A cow of a breed of fawn-coloured dairy [[cattle]] from Jersey, giving milk rich in butterfat.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[jerseyed]]

+ * [[Jerseyan]]

+ * [[Jerseyite]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[guernsey]]

+ * [[jersey cow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}