jersey
JER-zee
/ˈdʒɜːrzi/
A shirt worn by members of a sports team, typically featuring the player's name and number, or a soft, stretchy knitted fabric.
Can refer either to the specific uniform shirt worn by athletes (especially in team sports like soccer, basketball, or cycling) or to the lightweight, stretchy knit fabric itself.
The story behind the word. The word originates from the Isle of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, where local knitters produced a distinct, stretchy wool fabric used to make warm, flexible clothing for fishermen. By the late 19th century, the fabric's flexibility made it the perfect material for athletic uniforms.
Word relationships
- sports shirt: Sports shirt is a generic term for any shirt worn during physical activity, whereas jersey specifically implies a team uniform or a shirt made of jersey-knit fabric.
Commonly confused with
- sweater: In British English, 'jersey' can historically mean a wool sweater, but in modern global English, it almost always refers to a lightweight athletic team shirt or a specific knit fabric.
Collocations
- football jersey
- team jersey
- jersey fabric
- cotton jersey
Example sentences
- "Thousands of excited fans gathered at the stadium, many wearing their favorite player's iconic blue jersey." A fan showing support for their favorite athlete.
Memory hook
Think of the 'Isle of Jersey' where sheep provided the wool for the very first stretchy, comfortable sports shirts. A team shirt born on the Isle of Jersey.
When not to use
Do not use to describe heavy, structured woven dress shirts or formal jackets.
Fun facts
- Coco Chanel revolutionized women's fashion in 1916 by using jersey fabric—which at the time was strictly reserved for men's underwear and athletic wear—to create elegant, comfortable dresses.
Related words
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