sweater

English

A man’s sweater.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswɛtə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈswɛtɚ/, /-ɾɚ/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈswetə/
• Rhymes: -ɛtə, -ɛtə(r), -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.
2. (US) A similar garment worn for warmth.
3. One who sweats (produces sweat).
   • 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.

4. 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.

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

   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.

7. (archaic) One who sweats coins, i.e. removes small portions by shaking them.
8. (UK, obsolete) A London street ruffian in Queen Anne's time who prodded weak passengers with his sword-point.

Synonyms

• (for sense 1): sweatshirt
• (for sense 2): jumper, pullover, jersey, cardigan, wooly
• (for sense 3): perspirer
• (for sense 4): exploiter

Translations

knitted jacket worn by athletes before or after exercise

• Azerbaijani: sviter
• Belarusian: сві́тар m (svítar), швэ́дар m (švédar)
• Catalan: dessuadora (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 毛衣 (zh) (máoyī), 毛線衣／毛线衣 (zh) (máoxiànyī), 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)
• Italian: maglia (it) f
• Japanese: セーター (sētā)
• Korean: 스웨터 (ko) (seuweteo)
• Macedonian: џемпер m (džemper)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• Ukrainian: светр m (svetr)
• Uzbek: sviter (uz)
• Vietnamese: áo săng-đay, áo pu-lơ-vơ

similar garment worn for warmth

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

  Morocco: تريكو (trīkū)

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

  Mandarin: 毛衣 (zh) (máoyī), 毛線衣／毛线衣 (zh) (máoxiànyī), 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
• Finnish: villapaita (fi)
• French: pull-over (fr) m, pull (fr) m, chandail (fr) m
• Georgian: სვიტრი (ka) (sviṭri), პულოვერი (ṗuloveri)
• German: Pullover (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 (sētā), プルオーバー (puruōbā)
• Kazakh: свитер (kk) (sviter), пуловер (pulover)
• Khmer: អាវរងា (ʔaav rɔŋie), អាវយឺត (ʔaav yɨɨt)
• Korean: 스웨터 (ko) (seuweteo), 풀오버 (purobeo)
• Kyrgyz: свитер (sviter), пуловер (pulover)
• Lao: ເສື້ອຂົນສັດ (sư̄a khon sat)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: thorax lanius
• Latvian: pulovers m, džemperis
• Lithuanian: megztinis m
• Macedonian: џемпер m (džemper)
• Malay: baju panas, baju sejuk, sweater
• Mongolian: 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

• Persian: ژاکت (fa) (žâkat), پلیور (poliver)
• 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: (Southern Spain - specifically Seville, Chile) chaleco (es) m, (Colombia - also suéter) 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
• Swahili: sweta
• Swedish: 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: سویٹر m (sveṭar)
• Uyghur: پوپايكا (popayka)
• Uzbek: sviter (uz), pulover
• Vietnamese: áo (vi) len (vi)
• Winnebago: woonąžį zizik

a person who sweats

• Finnish: hikoilija
• Japanese: 汗っかき (asekkaki)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: suador m

Further reading

• sweater on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• wearest