Complex Numbers

Sweater

Some of my entries this month are for "Journalistic Intentions"  [18+]. This one, for example.

Sweater

I've always disliked sweaters.

There's this vague recollection from when I was a kid and my mom called an article of clothing that her mother gave me a "sweater." I immediately hated it.

Not because the sweater was ugly—at that age, I couldn't have assessed its attractiveness, or lack thereof. Not because it was scratchy—which it was, but lots of the clothing I got foisted upon me back then was scratchy. No, it was because of the name.

Sweater.

Sweating, Kid Me reasoned to the extent of his limited abilities, is Bad. Why would I want to do something that's bad?

Now, half a century or so of not wearing sweaters later, because of this prompt, I got off my ass and actually looked into the etymology.

It didn't help.

As with many articles on Wikipedia, I walked away more, not less, confused.

From the extensive discussion of "sweater" on that site,   we get:

The OED gives "sweater" as appearing in 1882 and gives its definition as "A woolen vest or jersey worn in rowing or other athletic exercises, originally... to reduce one's weight; now commonly put on also before or after exercise to prevent taking cold. Hence a similar garment for general informal wear; a jumper or pullover"

You know what's an even worse name for an article of clothing than "sweater?"

Jumper.

Also jersey, but okay, I can see an English word for an article of clothing named after a place in the UK.

I'm not disrespecting the British here. Just saying that with "sweater," at least the word has at least some connection to what a person wearing it does. But "jumper?" Come on. Picture in your head a proper British person jumping. Can't do it, can you? Whether or not they're wearing a knitted or crocheted garment.

"Pullover" at least makes some sense. If you ignore the buttoned kind (usually called a "cardigan," and don't get me started on wtf that word might mean), one dons a sweater by pulling it over one's head.

But there are numerous other articles of clothing, notably t-shirts and sweatshirts (which are etymologically, but not fashionably, related to sweaters) that are also put on by pulling it over one's head.

French is no help, probably because there's a bit of cross-pollination between French and British English. You know what they call a sweater in France? It's not pronounced "sweat-ay" like you might expect. No, the French equivalent of a sweater is called a pull.

Just. Pull.

Meanwhile, the French word for the verb form of pull (at least the one relevant to this rant) is appuyer. Which is pronounced with an "ay" sound at the end.

Fashion words sometimes make no sense to me, and I've got seven more to do before the end of the month. Wish me luck.