cardigan

C3A1R1D2I1G2A1N1
UK/ˈkɑːdɪɡən/

noun

A type of sweater or jumper that fastens up the front with buttons or a zipper, usually machine- or hand-knitted from wool.

Meanings

cardigan1

nouncardigan (plural cardigans)

plural cardigans

  1. A type of sweater or jumper that fastens up the front with buttons or a zipper, usually machine- or hand-knitted from wool.

    […] a coarsely knit white cardigan and a black turban whose broadened tails could be arranged around her neck scarfwise.

    1992, Norman Rush, Mating
    2 more examples

    Suzette Sundae, a musician wearing a fifties-style swing dress and a white cardigan over her tattoos, said that she ran a vintage-clothing store in Park Slope. When the store’s traffic fell off, she had Airbnb-ed her home.

    2017 May 8, Nathan Heller, “Is the Gig Economy Working?”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2018

    “I love that loungewear has become a prevailing new category,” said Barbara Lippert, 65, a writer. “During the worst part of the pandemic even jeans seemed like an overreach, requiring that complex button and zipper action. And cardigans were too much work.”

    2022 April 12, Rhonda Garelick, “Am I Done Suffering for Fashion?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Jun 2022

Cardigan2

proper noun
  1. A town and community with a town council in Ceredigion, Wales (OS grid ref SN1846).
  2. historicalThe County of Cardigan, a former synonym of Cardiganshire, Wales.

    After running through the meadows for about a mile, the train enters the County of Cardigan, and follows the south bank of the Teifi to Cardigan Station.

    1952 July, J. F. Burrell, “The Cardigan Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 485

Synonyms & antonyms

nounslightly bowlegged variety of corgi having rounded ears and a long tail

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

cardigan · noun

Named after British military commander James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1868). For the surname, see Cardigan.

Full word history & related roots →

Cardigan · proper noun

  1. WelshCeredigion“Ceredig's land”
  2. EnglishCardigan

Anglicized from Welsh Ceredigion (“Ceredig's land”)

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بَرْنَكَان
  • بَرْنَكَان (barnakān)type of sweater
Bulgarian плетена жилетка
  • плетена жилетка (pletena žiletka)type of sweater
Catalan càrdigan, rebeca
  • càrdigantype of sweater
  • rebecatype of sweater
  • rebequetatype of sweater
Chinese Mandarin 羊毛衫, 開襟毛衣 /开襟毛衣
  • 羊毛衫 (yángmáoshān)type of sweater
  • 開襟毛衣 /开襟毛衣 (kāijīn máoyī)type of sweater
  • 對襟毛衣 /对襟毛衣 (duìjīn máoyī)type of sweater
  • 開衫 /开衫 (kāishān)type of sweater
  • 卡迪根 (Kǎdígēn)town in Wales
Czech kardigan
  • kardigantype of sweater
Dutch cardigan
  • cardigantype of sweater
Esperanto kardigano
  • kardiganotype of sweater
Estonian kampsun, kardigan
  • kampsuntype of sweater
  • kardigantype of sweater
Finnish villatakki
  • villatakkitype of sweater
French cardigan, veste
  • cardigantype of sweater
  • vestetype of sweater
German Strickjacke, Cardigan
  • Strickjacketype of sweater
  • Cardigantype of sweater
Greek ζακέτα
  • ζακέτα (zakéta)type of sweater
Hebrew מִקְטוֹרָה, קְרְדִיגָן
  • מִקְטוֹרָה (míktora)type of sweater
  • קְרְדִיגָן (kárdigan)type of sweater
Hungarian kardigán
  • kardigántype of sweater
Irish cairdeagan
  • cairdeagantype of sweater
Italian cardigan
  • cardigantype of sweater
Japanese カーディガン, ジレー
  • カーディガン (kādigan)type of sweater
  • ジレー (jirē)type of sweater
Korean 카디건
  • 카디건 (kadigeon)type of sweater
Malay kardigan
  • kardigantype of sweater
Māori kātikena
  • kātikenatype of sweater
Persian ژاکت
  • ژاکت (žâkat)type of sweater
Polish kardigan
  • kardigantype of sweater
Portuguese cardigã, cardigan
  • cardigãtype of sweater
  • cardigantype of sweater
Russian кардига́н, ко́фта
  • кардига́н (kardigán)type of sweater
  • ко́фта (kófta)type of sweater
Spanish chaqueta de punto, cárdigan
  • chaqueta de puntotype of sweater
  • cárdigantype of sweater
  • rebecatype of sweater
Swedish cardigan, kofta
  • cardigantype of sweater
  • koftatype of sweater
Turkish hırka
  • hırkatype of sweater
Welsh cardigan, Aberteifi
  • cardigantype of sweater
  • Aberteifitown in Wales

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

cardigan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardigan

MLA

“cardigan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardigan. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cardigan,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cardigan.

Source: cardigan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.