gansey

Meanings

1. 1nouncountableBritishregional

   A traditional knitted wool sweater, usually with patterned stitching, worn by fishermen.

   Grammar: Countable: 'a gansey', 'the gansies'; the plural is 'gansies'.

   Patterns

   • wear a gansey
   • knit a gansey
   • a woolen gansey

   The old photograph shows the fishermen in thick woolen gansies.

   She spent the winter knitting a gansey for her grandson.

   Each fishing village had its own pattern for the gansey.

2. 2noununcountabletechnical

   The tightly knitted patterns and styles linked with these sweaters, studied by knitters today.

   Grammar: Used as a craft term without 'a': 'she studies gansey'.

   Patterns

   • traditional gansey
   • gansey patterns
   • gansey knitting

   The museum has a collection of traditional gansey from the east coast.

   Classes in gansey fill up quickly each autumn.

Word forms

Common combinations

knit a gansey

My grandmother learned to knit a gansey when she was a girl.

woolen gansey

He wore a heavy woolen gansey against the cold wind.

gansey pattern

The gansey pattern was passed down through the family.

traditional gansey

The shop sells traditional gansey made on the island.

Synonyms and how they differ

sweater

The general everyday word; a gansey is one specific traditional type of sweater.

jersey

A jersey is usually a lighter knitted top, often worn in sport, not a fisherman's wool sweater.

pullover

A pullover is any sweater pulled over the head; it says nothing about the traditional pattern.

Word family

gansey noun

Related forms are rare; 'gansey' itself is used as a modifier, as in 'gansey knitting'.

Commonly confused: gansey or guernsey? gansey or jersey?

Practice

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