A cardigan is a knitted jacket that buttons at the front, and its name comes from the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who made the style famous.
What Does Cardigan Mean?
A cardigan is a knitted top with buttons down the front, which you wear open or closed. It is usually made of wool or soft cotton.
Mia put on a cardigan because the classroom was cold.
Grandpa has a green cardigan with big pockets.
It is not the same as a jumper, which you pull over your head. A cardigan opens at the front.
🔊 Pronunciation
KAR-dih-gun
The stress is on the first part: KAR. The middle sounds like dih, and the end is a quiet gun, not like the word gun said loudly.
🗣️ Natural Examples
It's chilly. Take your cardigan.
My teacher wears a blue cardigan on Mondays.
Sam lost a button on his cardigan.
She knitted a cardigan for her little brother.
The cardigan was too big, so it was extra cosy.
🛠️ How to Use It
- Cardigan is a countable noun: a cardigan, two cardigans.
- You wear or put on a cardigan: She is wearing a cardigan.
- Take off a cardigan when you are warm.
- It can describe a style: a cardigan sweater (American English).
- In British English, people often just say cardigan.
🤝 Common Word Partners
- a woollen cardigan
- a knitted cardigan
- a long cardigan
- button up a cardigan
- a cardigan with pockets
- put on a cardigan
🌳 Word Family
- cardigan (noun): the buttoned knitted top. She wore a cardigan.
- cardigans (noun, plural): more than one.
- Cardigan (proper noun, capital C): a town in Wales, and the title Earl of Cardigan.
👯 Similar and Related Words
- Jumper / sweater: pulled over the head, with no buttons at the front.
- Hoodie: a top with a hood.
- Waistcoat: a short top without sleeves, worn over a shirt.
- Cotton: a soft plant fibre that many cardigans are made from.
The difference: a cardigan opens at the front. A jumper does not.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
A cardigan is not a jumper.
❌ I pulled my cardigan over my head.
✅ I put on my cardigan and buttoned it up.
Spell it with an a and an i.
❌ cardigen
✅ cardigan
Do not say cardi-GAN.
❌ kar-dih-GAN
✅ KAR-dih-gun
💬 In a Conversation
Sam: Why is it called a cardigan?
Mia: It's named after a man called the Earl of Cardigan.
Sam: He must have been cosy.
Mia: He was famous for it.
Sam: I hope he had enough pockets.
🕵️ Where Does It Come From?
The word cardigan comes from a person's title: James Thomas Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797 to 1868). He was an English general, and the knitted jacket became popular because of him. The word is first recorded in 1868, the year he died.
Cardigan is also a place in Wales. Its name is the English form of the Welsh name Ceredigion, which means "Ceredig's land". Ceredig was a leader from the 5th century.
So a cosy jacket is named after a person who is named after a place, which is named after another person.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Picture a jumper with a door down the front. The buttons are the door handles.
Then remember the name: the Earl of Cardigan made this cosy style famous.