sweater

See also: Sweater

English

A man’s sweater.

Etymology

From Middle English swētere, equivalent to sweat +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈswɛtə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈswɛtɚ/, /-ɾɚ/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈswetə/
• Rhymes: -ɛtə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: sweat‧er

Noun

sweater (plural sweaters)

1. A knitted jacket or jersey, usually of thick wool, worn by athletes before or after exercise.

   Synonym: sweatshirt

2. (US) A similar garment worn for warmth.

   Synonyms: jumper, pullover, jersey, cardigan, wooly

   • 1997, “Autumn Sweater”, in I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, performed by Yo La Tengo:

     We could slip away / Wouldn't that be better? / Me with nothing to say / And you in your autumn sweater

4. One who sweats (produces sweat).

   Synonym: perspirer

   • 2007, John T. James, A Sea of Broken Hearts: Patient Rights in a Dangerous Profit-Driven Health Care System, →ISBN, page 29:

     The cardiologist who administered Alex's exercise stress test on August 21 observed during that test that Alex was a profuse sweater.

5. One who or that which causes to sweat.
   • 1906, Chesterton, Charles Dickens, chapter 3:

     We learn of the cruelty of some school or child-factory from journalists; we learn it from inspectors, we learn it from doctors, we learn it even from shame-stricken schoolmasters and repentant sweaters; but we never learn it from the children; we never learn it from the victims.

6. A diaphoretic remedy.
7. (historical) An exploitative middleman who subcontracted piece work in the tailoring trade.

   Synonym: exploiter

   Coordinate term: sweatee

   • 1894, New York (State) Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration, Annual Report (volumes 7-8, page 158)

     If the piecework system had not existed there never would have been any sweatees. The men who are sweaters, I am sorry to say, are men who formerly belonged to our union.

8. (archaic) One who sweats coins, i.e. removes small portions by shaking them.
9. (UK, obsolete) A London street ruffian in Queen Anne's time who prodded passers-by with his sword-point.
   • William Lecky, quoted in 1965, Gilbert Geis, Juvenile Gangs (page 6)

     Among them were the "sweaters" who formed a circle round their prisoner and pricked him with their swords until he sank exhausted to the ground, […]

Derived terms

• Bill Cosby sweater
• Cosby sweater
• polo neck sweater
• sweater dress, sweater-dress, sweaterdress
• sweater girl
• sweater meat
• sweater puppies
• sweater up
• sweater vest
• turtleneck sweater

 

Descendants

• → Catalan: suèter
• → Czech: svetr
• → Danish: sweater
• → German: Sweater
• → Hungarian: szvetter
• → Japanese: セーター (sētā)
• → Korean: 스웨터 (seuweteo)
• → Polish: sweter
• → Portuguese: suéter
• → Russian: сви́тер (svíter)
  • → Crimean Tatar: sviter
  • → Georgian: სვიტრი (sviṭri)
  • → Uzbek: sviter
• → Spanish: suéter
• → Swahili: sweta
• → Turkish: süveter

Translations

knitted jacket worn by athletes before or after exercise

• Albanian: mitan (sq) m
• Azerbaijani: sviter
• Belarusian: сві́тар m (svítar), швэ́дар m (švédar)
• Bulgarian: суи́тър m (suítǎr)
• Catalan: dessuadora (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 毛衣 (zh) (máoyī), 毛線衣／毛线衣 (zh) (máoxiànyī)

• Finnish: villapaita (fi)
• French: sweater (fr) m, sweat-shirt (fr) m, sweat (fr) m
• German: Sweatshirt (de) n
• Hindi: स्वेटर (hi) m (sveṭar)
• Ingrian: lankapaita
• Italian: maglia (it) f
• Japanese: セーター (ja) (sētā)
• Korean: 스웨터 (ko) (seuweteo)
• Macedonian: џемпер m (džemper)
• Malay: sweater
• Maori: poraka
• Polish: sweter (pl) m
• Portuguese: malha (pt) f, suéter (pt) m
• Russian: сви́тер (ru) m (svítɛr), сви́тер (ru) m (svíter), дже́мпер (ru) m (džémper), пуло́ве́р (ru) m (pulóvér), ко́фта (ru) f (kófta)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: џемпер m

  Roman: džemper (sh) m

• Spanish: sudadera f, suéter (es) m
• Swedish: sweater (sv) c
• Ukrainian: светр m (svetr)
• Uzbek: sviter (uz)
• Vietnamese: áo săng-đay, áo pu-lơ-vơ

similar garment worn for warmth

• Afrikaans: trui
• Albanian: mitan (sq) m, pulovër (sq) m
• Arabic: سْوِيتَر m (swītar)

  Morocco: تريكو (trīkū)

• Armenian: սվիտեր (hy) (sviter)
• Azerbaijani: sviter
• Basque: jertse
• Belarusian: сві́тар m (svítar), пуло́вер m (pulóvjer), швэ́дар m (švédar)
• Bengali: সোয়েটার (bn) (śōẇeṭar)
• Bulgarian: пуло́вер (bg) m (pulóver)
• Burmese: ဆွယ်တာ (my) (hcwaita)
• Catalan: suèter (ca) m, dessuadora (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 毛衣 (zh) (máoyī), 毛線衣／毛线衣 (zh) (máoxiànyī), 套衫 (zh) (tàoshān)

• Czech: pulovr, svetr (cs)
• Danish: sweater (da) c
• Dutch: trui (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: pulovero
• Estonian: sviiter, kampsun
• Finnish: villapaita (fi)
• French: pull-over (fr) m, pull (fr) m, chandail (fr) m
• Georgian: სვიტრი (ka) (sviṭri), პულოვერი (ṗuloveri)
• German: Pullover (de) m, Sweater (de) m
• Greek: πουλόβερ (el) n (poulóver)
• Hebrew: סוודר \ סְוֶדֶר (he) m (svéder)
• Hindi: स्वेटर (hi) m (sveṭar)
• Hungarian: pulóver (hu)
• Icelandic: peysa (is) f
• Ido: jerzeo (io)
• Indonesian: switer (id)
• Interlingua: sweater
• Irish: geansaí m
• Italian: maglione (it) m
• Japanese: セーター (ja) (sētā), プルオーバー (ja) (puruōbā)
• Kazakh: свитер (sviter), пуловер (pulover)
• Khmer: អាវរងា (ʼaaw rɔngiə), អាវយឺត (ʼaaw yɨɨt)
• Korean: 스웨터 (ko) (seuweteo), 풀오버 (purobeo)
• Kyrgyz: свитер (sviter), пуловер (pulover)
• Lao: ເສື້ອຂົນສັດ (sư̄a khon sat)
• Latin: thorax lanius
• Latvian: pulovers m, džemperis
• Lithuanian: megztinis m
• Macedonian: џемпер m (džemper), фанела (mk) f (fanela)
• Malay: baju panas, baju sejuk, sweater
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: битүү захтай ноосон цамц (bitüü zaxtaj nooson camc), битүү захтай цамц (bitüü zaxtaj camc)

• Navajo: éétsoh naatsʼǫǫdii, ééʼnaatsʼǫǫdii
• Northern Sami: buser, báidi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: genser (no) m

  Nynorsk: genser m

• Oromo: shurraaba
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: ژاکَت (fa) (žâkat), پُلیوِر (poliver)

• Plautdietsch: Woljak f
• Polish: sweter (pl) m, pulower m
• Portuguese: suéter (pt) m, pulôver (pt) m, blusa (pt) f
• Russian: сви́тер (ru) m (svítɛr), сви́тер (ru) m (svíter), пуло́ве́р (ru) m (pulóvér), дже́мпер (ru) m (džémper), ко́фта (ru) f (kófta), фуфа́йка (ru) f (fufájka)
• Scottish Gaelic: geansaidh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: џемпер m

  Roman: džemper (sh) m

• Sinhalese: ස්වේටර් (swēṭar)
• Slovak: sveter (sk) m
• Slovene: pulover m
• Spanish: (Seville (Southern Spain), Chile) chaleco (es) m, (Colombia) buzo (es) f, (Chile, colloquial) chomba (es) f, (Bolivia, Peru) chompa (es) f, (Spain standard usage) jersey (es) m, (Argentina) pulóver (es) m, (Latin America) suéter (es) m, sueta f (Costa Rica),
• Swahili: sweta
• Swedish: (tjock)tröja (sv) c
• Tajik: свитер (sviter)
• Thai: เสื้อขนสัตว์ (sʉ̂ʉa-kǒn-sàt)
• Turkish: süveter (tr), kazak (tr)
• Turkmen: switer, pulower
• Ukrainian: светр m (svetr), пуло́вер m (pulóver)
• Urdu: سْویٹَر m (sveṭar)
• Uyghur: پوپايكا (popayka)
• Uzbek: sviter (uz), pulover
• Vietnamese: áo (vi) len (vi)
• Winnebago: woonąžį zizik

a person who sweats

• Finnish: hikoilija
• Japanese: あせっかき (asekkaki)
• Portuguese: suador m

Verb

sweater (third-person singular simple present sweaters, present participle sweatering, simple past and past participle sweatered)

1. (transitive) To dress in a sweater.

Further reading

• sweater on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• wearest